#VU55804 Insecure library loading in p5-encode - CVE-2021-36770

Vulnerability identifier: #VU55804

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 4.4 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2021-36770

CWE-ID: CWE-427

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
p5-encode
Universal components / Libraries / Libraries used by multiple products

Vendor: Dan Kogai

Description

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

The vulnerability exists due to a logic error in the Encode.pm script. A local user can place a malicious library into the current working directory and escalate privileges on the system.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

p5-encode: 3.05 - 3.11

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External links
https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2021-36770
https://github.com/Perl/perl5/commit/c1a937fef07c061600a0078f4cb53fe9c2136bb9
https://news.cpanel.com/unscheduled-tsr-10-august-2021/
https://metacpan.org/dist/Encode/changes
https://github.com/dankogai/p5-encode/commit/527e482dc70b035d0df4f8c77a00d81f8d775c74

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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.