CVE-2021-3156
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Description
A flaw was found in sudo. A heap-based buffer overflow was found in the way sudo parses command line arguments. This flaw is exploitable by any local user who can execute the sudo command (by default, any local user can execute sudo) without authentication. Successful exploitation of this flaw could lead to privilege escalation. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality and integrity as well as system availability.
Statement
This flaw does not affect the versions of sudo shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, because the vulnerable code was not present in these versions.
Mitigation
Red Hat Product Security strongly recommends customers to update to fixed sudo packages once they are available. For customers who cannot update immediately, the following interim partial mitigation using systemtap is suggested:
1. Install required systemtap packages and dependencies:
systemtap yum-utils kernel-devel-"$(uname -r)"
Then for RHEL 7 install kernel debuginfo, using:
debuginfo-install -y kernel-"$(uname -r)"Then for RHEL 8 & 6 install sudo debuginfo, using:
debuginfo-install sudo
2. Create the following systemtap script: (call the file as sudoedit-block.stap)
probe process("/usr/bin/sudo").function("main") {
command = cmdline_args(0,0,"");
if (isinstr(command, "edit")) {
raise(9);
}
}
3. Install the script using the following command: (using root)# nohup stap -g sudoedit-block.stap &(This should output the PID number of the systemtap script)
This script will cause the vulnerable sudoedit binary to stop working. The sudo command will still work as usual.
The above change does not persist across reboots and must be applied after each reboot.
Please consult How to make a systemtap kernel module load persistently across reboots? (https://access.redhat.com/solutions/5752521) to learn how to
turn this into a service managed by initd.
4. Once the new fixed packages are installed, the systemtap script can be removed by killing the systemtap process. For example, by using:
# kill -s SIGTERM 7590(where 7590 is the PID of the systemtap process)
Additional Information
- This content is not included.Bugzilla 1917684: sudo: Heap buffer overflow in argument parsing
- Content from cwe.mitre.org is not included.CWE-122: Heap-based Buffer Overflow
- FAQ: Frequently asked questions about CVE-2021-3156
- Offline Security Data data is available for integration with other systems. See Offline Security Data API to get started.
External References
Content from www.cve.org is not included.https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-3156
Content from nvd.nist.gov is not included.https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-3156
Content from www.sudo.ws is not included.https://www.sudo.ws/alerts/unescape_overflow.html
Affected Packages and Issued Red Hat Security Errata
| Products / Services | Components | State | Errata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | sudo | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Extended Lifecycle Support | sudo | Fixed | RHSA-2021:0227 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | sudo | Fixed | RHSA-2021:0221 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.2 Advanced Update Support | sudo | Fixed | RHSA-2021:0226 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.3 Advanced Update Support | sudo | Fixed | RHSA-2021:0225 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.4 Advanced Update Support | sudo | Fixed | RHSA-2021:0224 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.4 Telco Extended Update Support | sudo | Fixed | RHSA-2021:0224 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.4 Update Services for SAP Solutions | sudo | Fixed | RHSA-2021:0224 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.6 Extended Update Support | sudo | Fixed | RHSA-2021:0223 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.7 Extended Update Support | sudo | Fixed | RHSA-2021:0222 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | sudo | Fixed | RHSA-2021:0218 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.1 Extended Update Support | sudo | Fixed | RHSA-2021:0220 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Extended Update Support | sudo | Fixed | RHSA-2021:0219 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | sudo | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Virtualization 4 for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | redhat-virtualization-host | Fixed | RHSA-2021:0395 |
| Red Hat Virtualization 4 for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | redhat-virtualization-host | Fixed | RHSA-2021:0401 |
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authorities (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications ).
| CVSS v3 Score Breakdown | Red Hat | NVD |
|---|---|---|
| CVSS v3 Base Score | 7.8 | 7.8 |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low |
| Privileges Required | Low | Low |
| User Interaction | None | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality Impact | High | High |
| Integrity Impact | High | High |
| Availability Impact | High | High |
CVSS v3 Vector
Red Hat CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Red Hat's CVSS v3 score or Impact different from other vendors?
For more information, see https://access.redhat.com/solutions/762393.
My product is listed as "Under investigation" or "Affected", when will Red Hat release a fix for this vulnerability?
- "Under investigation" doesn't necessarily mean that the product is affected by this vulnerability. It only means that our Analysis Team is still working on determining whether the product is affected and how it is affected.
- "Affected" means that our Analysis Team has determined that this product is affected by this vulnerability and might release a fix to address this in the near future.
What can I do if my product is listed as "Will not fix"?
Available options depend mostly on the Impact of the vulnerability and the current Life Cycle phase of your product. Overall, you have the following options:
- Upgrade to a supported product version that includes a fix for this vulnerability (recommended).
- Apply a mitigation (if one exists).
- Open a This content is not included.support case to request a prioritization of releasing a fix for this vulnerability.
What can I do if my product is listed as "Fix deferred"?
Available options depend mostly on the Impact of the vulnerability and the current Life Cycle phase of your product. Overall, you have the following options:
- Apply a mitigation (if one exists).
- Open a This content is not included.support case to request a prioritization of releasing a fix for this vulnerability.
- Red Hat Engineering focuses on addressing high-priority issues based on their complexity or limited lifecycle support. Therefore, lower-priority issues will not receive immediate fixes.
What is a mitigation?
I have a Red Hat product but it is not in the above list, is it affected?
Why is my security scanner reporting my product as vulnerable to this vulnerability even though my product version is fixed or not affected?
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