#VU17656 Privilege escalation in Snapd - CVE-2019-7304

Vulnerability identifier: #VU17656

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 7.1 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2019-7304

CWE-ID: CWE-264

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: Yes

Vulnerable software:
Snapd
Universal components / Libraries / Software for developers

Vendor: snapcore

Description
The vulnerability allows a local attacker to gain elevated privileges.

The weakness exists due to a bug in the snapd API when validation and parsing the remote socket address while performing access controls on its UNIX socket. A local attacker can access privileged socket APIs and obtain administrator privileges.

Note: the vulnerability has been dubbed as 'Dirty Sock'.

Mitigation
Update to version 2.37.1.

Vulnerable software versions

Snapd: 2.28 - 2.37

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External links
https://bugs.launchpad.net/snapd/+bug/1813365
https://github.com/initstring/dirty_sock/

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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. However, proof of concept for this vulnerability is available.