Password protection feature bypass in GRUB on UEFI systems

1) Security features bypass

EUVDB-ID: #VU85654

Risk: Low

CVSSv3.1: 5.3 [CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2023-4001

CWE-ID: CWE-254 - Security Features

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows an attacker to bypass GRUB password protection feature.

The vulnerability exists due to an error in GRUB due to the way that GRUB uses the UUID of a device to search for the configuration file that contains the password hash for the GRUB password protection feature. An attacker with physical access to the system can bypass the GRUB password protection feature on UEFI systems.

Mitigation

Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

grub: 2.00 - 2.06

External links

http://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-4001
http://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2224951
http://dfir.ru/2024/01/15/cve-2023-4001-a-vulnerability-in-the-downstream-grub-boot-manager/
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/01/15/3

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.