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Ubuntu: 2021:32 High Severity Local Root Compromise in Modules Package

Newer versions of the modprobe program contain a bug which allows local users to gain root priviledges.. ______________________________________________________________________________ SuSE Security Announcement Package: modules Announcement-ID: SuSE-SA:2000:44 Date: Monday, November 13th, 2000 10:00 MEST Affected SuSE versions: 6.4, 7.0 Vulnerability Type: local root compromise Severity (1-10): 8 SuSE default package: yes Other affected systems: many newer Linux distributions Content of this advisory: 1) security vulnerability resolved: modprobe shell metacharacter expansion problem description, discussion, solution and upgrade information 2) pending vulnerabilities, solutions, workarounds 3) standard appendix (further information) ______________________________________________________________________________ 1) problem description, brief discussion, solution, upgrade information The modules package is responsible for on-demand loading of kernel modules/drivers. The /sbin/modprobe command, when executed as a new task by the kernel-internal function request_module(), runs with the priviledges of the init process, usually root. Newer versions of the modprobe program contain a bug which allows local users to gain root priviledges. modprobe expands given arguments via /bin/echo and can easily be tricked into executing commands. In order for this bug to be exploitable, a setuid root program must be installed that can trigger the loading of modules (such as ping6). The fix for this bug consists of a change to modprobe which disables the expansion of arguments to modprobe via /bin/echo. A temporary workaround for this bug is to disable the automatic loading of modules in the running kernel by running the command (as root) /sbin/sysctl -w kernel.modprobe=/ or echo "/" > /proc/sys/kernel/modprobe Please note that this temporary workaround will have to be repeated after the next reboot to become effective again. Download the update package from locations desribed below and install the package with the command `rpm -Uhv file.rpm'. The md5sum for each file is in the line below. You can verify the integrity of the rpm files using the command `rpm --checksig --nogpg file.rpm', independently from the md5 signatures below. i386 Intel Platform: SuSE-7.0 9643216a1e0c147635ef62d894a9d7ad source rpm: Due to a packaging error, the modules package source rpm is not available on our ftp servers yet. It will appear at the location above in very few hours. SuSE-6.4 d3a95b93e549aae9a462e84d179efe45 source rpm: Due to a packaging error, the modules package source rpm is not available on our ftp servers yet. It will appear at the location above in very few hours. Sparc Platform: SuSE-7.0 c0ab9aab7a61cefdb2cade98c663d4e3 source rpm: Due to a packaging error, the modules package source rpm is not available on our ftp servers yet. It will appear at the location above in very few hours. AXP Alpha Platform: SuSE-6.4 a88b84d7f3d79f2a47ff9e78681a0390 source rpm: Due to a packaging error, the modules package source rpm is not available on our ftp servers yet. It will appear at the location above in very few hours. PPC Power PC Platform: SuSE-7.0: ef09b5c6438a0de8e18653e0a60d9c4c source rpm: Due to a packaging error, the modules package source rpm is not available on our ftp servers yet. It will appear at the location above in very few hours. SuSE-6.4 27ba13500292c44969dd865f0c543c19 source rpm: Due to a packaging error, the modulespackage source rpm is not available on our ftp servers yet. It will appear at the location above in very few hours. ______________________________________________________________________________ 2) Pending vulnerabilities in SuSE Distributions and Workarounds: A seperate message is being prepared to address the currently ongoing security vulnerabilites. ______________________________________________________________________________ 3) standard appendix: SuSE runs two security mailing lists to which any interested party may subscribe: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - general/linux/SuSE security discussion. All SuSE security announcements are sent to this list. To subscribe, send an email to . This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - SuSE's announce-only mailing list. Only SuSE's security annoucements are sent to this list. To subscribe, send an email to . For general information or the frequently asked questions (faq) send mail to: or respectively. ============================================== SuSE's security contact is . ============================================== Regards, Sebastian Krahmer ______________________________________________________________________________ . SuSE Security Advisory detailing critical local privilege escalation risk associated with the modules subsystem, accompanied by update instructions and available mitigation strategies.. SuSE Modules Update, Local Escalation Issue, Security Patch. . Severity: Critical. LinuxSecurity.com Team

Nov 13, 2000 •Critical SuSE