Privilege escalation in wpa_supplicant

1) Use-after-free

EUVDB-ID: #VU59105

Risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 5.7 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2021-0535

CWE-ID: CWE-416 - Use After Free

Exploit availability: No

Description

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

The vulnerability exists due to a use-after-free error in the wpas_ctrl_msg_queue_timeout() function of ctrl_iface_unix.c file in wpa_supplicant. A local user can pass specially crafted data to the application, trigger a use-after-free error and execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.

Mitigation

Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

wpa_supplicant: 2.0 - 2.9

CPE2.3

• cpe:2.3:a:jouni_malinen:wpa_supplicant:2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:jouni_malinen:wpa_supplicant:2.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:jouni_malinen:wpa_supplicant:2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

External links

https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/pixel/2021-06-01

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.