Privilege escalation in Linux Util-Linux
CVE-2017-2616
A race condition was found in util-linux before 2.32.1 in the way su handled the management of child processes. A local authenticated attacker could use this flaw to kill other processes with root privileges under specific conditions.
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.003 (18.3th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 18th percentile — 18.3% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.003 · newest: 0.003 · change: 0.000
Affected products
- Linux Util-Linux — versions 2.32.1
- Util-Linux Project
- Debian Linux — versions 8.0
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop — versions 6.0, 7.0
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server — versions 6.0, 7.0
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Aus — versions 7.3, 7.4
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Eus — versions 7.3, 7.4, 7.5
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation — versions 6.0, 7.0
Weakness classification (CWE)
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi (Patch, Third Party Advisory, Issue Tracking)
- www.securityfocus.com/bid/96404 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:0907 (vendor-advisory, Third Party Advisory)
- rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0654.html (vendor-advisory, Third Party Advisory)
- security.gentoo.org/glsa/201706-02 (vendor-advisory, Third Party Advisory)
- www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-3793 (vendor-advisory, Third Party Advisory)
- github.com/karelzak/util-linux/commit/dffab154d29a288aa171ff50263ecc8f2e14a891 (Patch, Third Party Advisory)
- www.securitytracker.com/id/1038271 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2017-2616?
- CVE-2017-2616 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Util-Linux, classified under Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2018-07-27.
- How severe is CVE-2017-2616?
- Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2017-2616 known to be exploited?
- 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.