Privilege escalation in IBM ProtecTIER

1) Privilege escalation

EUVDB-ID: #VU1039

Risk: Medium

CVSSv3.1: 7.5 [CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:H/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2016-5195

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

Exploit availability: Yes

Description

The vulnerability allows a  local user to obtain elevated privileges on the target system.
The weakness is due to race condition in the kernel memory subsystem in the management of copy-on-write operations on read-only memory mappings that lets attackers to overwrite kernel memory and gain kernel-level privileges.
Successful exploitation of the vulnerability results in gaining of root privileges on the vulnerable system.

Note: the vulnerability was being actively exploited.

Mitigation

Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

ProtecTIER Entry Edition (PID 5639-PTC) - TS7610 / TS7620: All versions

ProtecTIER Gateway for System Z (PID 5639-FPA): All versions

ProtecTIER Appliance Edition (PID 5639-PTB) - TS7650AP1: All versions

ProtecTIER Enterprise Edition (PID 5639-PTA) - TS7650G: All versions

CPE2.3

• cpe:2.3:a:ibm_corporation:protectier_entry_edition_pid_5639-ptc_-_ts7610_ts7620:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:
• cpe:2.3:a:ibm_corporation:protectier_gateway_for_system_z_pid_5639-fpa:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:
• cpe:2.3:a:ibm_corporation:protectier_appliance_edition_pid_5639-ptb_-_ts7650ap1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:
• cpe:2.3:a:ibm_corporation:protectier_enterprise_edition_pid_5639-pta_-_ts7650g:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:

External links

http://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/696401

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?

Yes. This vulnerability is being exploited in the wild.