Vulnerability identifier: #VU51197

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv3.1: 5.6 [CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2021-20225

CWE-ID: CWE-787

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
grub
Universal components / Libraries / Libraries used by multiple products

Vendor: GNU

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to a boundary error within the option parser. A local privileged user can write past the end of a heap-allocated buffer by calling certain commands with a large number of specific short forms of options and execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

grub: 2.00 - 2.06

---

External links
http://seclists.org/oss-sec/2021/q1/189

---

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.