Privilege escalation in Linux kernel atlantic driver

1) Out-of-bounds write

EUVDB-ID: #VU62485

Risk: Low

CVSSv3.1: 5.8 [CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2021-43975

CWE-ID: CWE-787 - Out-of-bounds write

Exploit availability: No

Description

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

The vulnerability exists due to a boundary error within the hw_atl_utils_fw_rpc_wait() function in drivers/net/ethernet/aquantia/atlantic/hw_atl/hw_atl_utils.c in Linux kernel. A local user can attach a specially crafted device to the system, trigger an out-of-bounds write and execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.

Mitigation

Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: before 5.15.3

External links

http://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/netdev/net.git/commit/?id=b922f622592af76b57cbc566eaeccda0b31a3496
http://lore.kernel.org/netdev/163698540868.13805.17800408021782408762.git-patchwork-notify@kernel.org/T/
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/X24M7KDC4OJOZNS3RDSYC7ELNELOLQ2N/
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/YODMYMGZYDXQKGJGX7TJG4XV4L5YLLBD/
http://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20211210-0001/
http://www.debian.org/security/2022/dsa-5096
http://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/03/msg00012.html

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. The attacker should have physical access to the system in order to successfully exploit this vulnerability.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

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