#VU15675 Privilege escalation in systemd - CVE-2018-15686

Vulnerability identifier: #VU15675

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 8.1 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2018-15686

CWE-ID: CWE-264

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
systemd
Server applications / Other server solutions

Vendor: Freedesktop.org

Description

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

The weakness exists due to an error in unit_deserialize of systemd. A remote attacker can supply arbitrary state across systemd re-execution via NotifyAccess and gain root privileges.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

systemd: 174 - 239

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External links
https://github.com/systemd/systemd/pull/10519

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

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