#VU17761 Privilege escalation in Linux kernel - CVE-2018-20669

Vulnerability identifier: #VU17761

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 7.3 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2018-20669

CWE-ID: CWE-264

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Linux kernel
Operating systems & Components / Operating system

Vendor: Linux Foundation

Description

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

The vulnerability exists in i915_gem_execbuffer2_ioctl in drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_gem_execbuffer.c due to a provided address with access_ok() is not checked before accessing userspace data in certain situations. A local attacker can gain elevated privileges.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: All versions

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External links
https://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-02/msg00042.html
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=594cc251fdd0d231d342d88b2fdff4bc42fb0690

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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.