Privilege escalation in libuv

1) Race condition

EUVDB-ID: #VU47269

Risk: Low

CVSSv3.1: 7.7 [CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2014-9748

CWE-ID: CWE-362 - Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to a race condition in libuv due to incorrect implementation of the uv_rwlock_t fallback for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. A local user can exploit the race and gain unauthorized access to sensitive information and escalate privileges on the system.

Mitigation

Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

libuv: 1.7.0 - 1.7.3

External links

http://github.com/libuv/libuv/issues/515
http://github.com/libuv/libuv/pull/516
http://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/2723
http://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/libuv/KyNnGEXR0OA/NWb605ev2LUJ
http://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/libuv/WO2cl9zasN8

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.