Privilege escalation in IBM Cloud Pak System

1) Insecure default variable initialization

EUVDB-ID: #VU54833

Risk: Low

CVSSv3.1: 7.7 [CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2021-0144

CWE-ID: CWE-453 - Insecure Default Variable Initialization

Exploit availability: No

Description

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

The vulnerability exists due to insecure default variable initialization for the Intel BSSA DFT feature. A local user can run a specially crafted program to execute arbitrary code on the system with elevated privileges.

Mitigation

Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

IBM Cloud Pak System: 2.3.0.1 - 2.3.3.3 iFix 1

CPE2.3

• cpe:2.3:a:ibm_corporation:ibm_cloud_pak_system:2.3.3.3:iFix 1:*:*:*:*:*:
• cpe:2.3:a:ibm_corporation:ibm_cloud_pak_system:2.3.3.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:
• cpe:2.3:a:ibm_corporation:ibm_cloud_pak_system:2.3.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:

External links

http://www.ibm.com/blogs/psirt/security-bulletin-vulnerability-in-intel-xeon-affects-ibm-cloud-pak-system-cve-2021-0144/
http://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6558964

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.

How the attacker can exploit this vulnerability?

The attacker would have to send a specially crafted request to the affected application in order to exploit this vulnerability.

The attacker would have to login to the system and perform certain actions in order to exploit this vulnerability.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.