Security features bypass in grub - CVE-2023-4001

Vulnerability identifier: #VU85654

CSH Severity: Low

CVSS v4: 6.8 [CVSS:4.0/AV:P/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]

CVE-ID: CVE-2023-4001

CWE-ID: CWE-254

Exploitation vector: Local access

Exploit availability: No public exploit available

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.

grub
Amazon Linux AMI
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, little endian - Extended Update Support
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for ARM 64 - Extended Update Support
Fedora
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server for Power LE - Update Services for SAP Solutions
grub2 (Red Hat package)
grub2

Install updates from vendor's website.

grub - update to 2.12
grub2 (Red Hat package) - update to 2.06-27.el9_0.16
grub2 - update to 2.06-61
grub2 - addressed in versions 2.06-114.fc38, 2.06-116.fc39

• https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-4001
• https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2224951
• https://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

• Password protection feature bypass in GRUB on UEFI systems
• Fedora 39 update for grub2
• Fedora 38 update for grub2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0 Extended Update Support update for grub2
• Amazon Linux AMI update for grub2