#VU42850 Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls in Linux kernel - CVE-2013-1979

Vulnerability identifier: #VU42850

Vulnerability risk: High

CVSSv4.0: 6.1 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Amber]

CVE-ID: CVE-2013-1979

CWE-ID: CWE-264

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Linux kernel
Operating systems & Components / Operating system

Vendor: Linux Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote non-authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code.

The scm_set_cred function in include/net/scm.h in the Linux kernel before 3.8.11 uses incorrect uid and gid values during credentials passing, which allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: 3.8.0 - 3.8.9

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External links
https://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=commit;h=83f1b4ba917db5dc5a061a44b3403ddb6e783494
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2013-April/103750.html
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2013-May/104480.html
https://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2013-07/msg00016.html
https://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2013-07/msg00018.html
https://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2014-10/msg00006.html
https://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2014-10/msg00007.html
https://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2013-12/msg00129.html
https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/ChangeLog-3.8.11
https://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2013:176
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2013/04/29/1
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=955629
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/83f1b4ba917db5dc5a061a44b3403ddb6e783494

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

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