#VU100983 Race condition in needrestart - CVE-2024-48991

Vulnerability identifier: #VU100983

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 7.1 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2024-48991

CWE-ID: CWE-362

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: Yes

Vulnerable software:
needrestart
Universal components / Libraries / Libraries used by multiple products

Vendor: liske (Thomas Liske)

Description

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

The vulnerability exists due to a race condition. A local user can force the application into running a malicious Python interpreter instead the system one and execute arbitrary code as root.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

needrestart: 0.1 - 3.7

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External links
https://github.com/liske/needrestart/commit/42af5d328901287a4f79d1f5861ac827a53fd56d
https://github.com/liske/needrestart/commit/6ce6136cccc307c6b8a0f8cae12f9a22ac2aad59
https://www.qualys.com/2024/11/19/needrestart/needrestart.txt

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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. However, proof of concept for this vulnerability is available.