#VU12433 Configuration error in Hesiod - CVE-2016-10151

Vulnerability identifier: #VU12433

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 5.9 [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:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2016-10151

CWE-ID: CWE-16

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Hesiod
Server applications / DNS servers

Vendor: Achernya

Description
The vulnerability allows a local attacker to gain elevated privileges on the target system.

The weakness exists in the hesiod_init function in lib/hesiod.c due to comparing EUID with UID to determine whether to use configurations from environment variables. A local attacker can gain root privileges via the (1) HESIOD_CONFIG or (2) HES_DOMAIN environment variable and leveraging certain SUID/SGUID binary.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Hesiod: 3.2.1

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External links
https://github.com/achernya/hesiod/pull/9

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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.