CVE-2021-4034: Red Hat Polkit Out-of-Bounds Read and Write Vulnerability
A Local Privilege Escalation vulnerability (from any user to root) was found in polkit's pkexec, a SUID-root program that is installed by default on every major Linux distribution.
Other sources
A local privilege escalation vulnerability was found on polkit's pkexec utility. The pkexec application is a setuid tool designed to allow unprivileged users to run commands as privileged users according predefined policies. The current version of pkexec doesn't handle the calling parameters count correctly and ends trying to execute environment variables as commands. An attacker can leverage this by crafting environment variables in such a way it'll induce pkexec to execute arbitrary code. When successfully executed the attack can cause a local privilege escalation given unprivileged users administrative rights on the target machine.
The Red Hat polkit pkexec utility contains an out-of-bounds read and write vulnerability that allows for privilege escalation with administrative rights.
— CISA
Affected Software
Remediation
Information
Patch Available
Patch Available
Event History
Parent advisories
This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2021-4034?
CVE-2021-4034 is considered a high severity vulnerability that allows for local privilege escalation.
How do I fix CVE-2021-4034?
To fix CVE-2021-4034, update the polkit package to a version that is patched, such as 0:0.96-11.el6_10.2 or higher for Red Hat systems.
What causes CVE-2021-4034?
CVE-2021-4034 is caused by an out-of-bounds read and write vulnerability within the pkexec utility of the polkit package.
Which systems are affected by CVE-2021-4034?
CVE-2021-4034 affects multiple versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and systems using the polkit package, particularly versions prior to the fix releases.
Can CVE-2021-4034 be exploited remotely?
No, CVE-2021-4034 requires local access to exploit, as it involves privilege escalation using a setuid tool.