New Linux Kernel Bug Gives Attackers Free Rein Over Impacted Systems

Linux Kernel

The Discovery 

Several severe flaws have been found in the Linux kernel, the most significant being a new kernel vulnerability that could allow attackers to gain root privileges on affected systems. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-0193, is a use-after-free flaw found in the netfilter subsystem of the Linux kernel. If the catchall element is garbage-collected when the pipapo set is removed, the element can be deactivated twice. This can cause a use-after-free issue on an NFT_CHAIN object or NFT_OBJECT object, allowing a local, unprivileged user with CAP_NET_ADMIN capability to escalate their privileges on the system.

The Impact

Since this bug allows privilege escalation, attackers could exploit it to gain root system access. This could enable them to view additional infrastructure to attack, add or delete users, or modify permissions of files or other users.

The Fix

An essential Linux kernel security update has been released to mitigate the bugs recently found in the kernel. Given the above vulnerability’s threat to affected systems, if left unpatched, we urge all impacted users to update immediately. Doing so will protect against attacks potentially leading to system downtime or compromise.

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OpenSSH

The Discovery 

Following the infamous “Terrapin vulnerability,” which allows a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacker to access impacted users’ sensitive information in transit, another dangerous flaw has been found in OpenSSH. It was discovered that OpenSSH incorrectly handled supplemental groups when running helper programs for AuthorizedKeysCommand and AuthorizedPrincipalsCommand as a different user. An attacker could exploit this issue to escalate privileges on affected systems (CVE-2021-41617). 

The Impact

This issue could result in privilege escalation attacks, enabling malicious hackers to view additional infrastructure to attack, add or delete users, or modify permissions of files or other users.

The Fix

Important OpenSSH security updates have been released to mitigate the recent flaws that have been uncovered. Given these vulnerabilities’ severe threat to affected systems, if left unpatched, we strongly recommend all impacted users update as soon as possible to protect against privilege escalation on their systems and secure their critical data.

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Thunderbird 

The Discovery 

Several significant vulnerabilities have been found in the widely used Thunderbird email client. If a user were tricked into opening a specially crafted website in a browsing context, an attacker could exploit these issues to cause a denial of service, obtain sensitive data, bypass security restrictions, perform cross-site tracing, or execute arbitrary code.

The Impact

Exploitation of these bugs could result in the compromise of sensitive information or loss of system availability.

The Fix

A crucial update for Thunderbird has been released to fix these impactful vulnerabilities. Given these flaws’ severe threat to affected systems, if left unpatched, we strongly recommend all impacted users update promptly to protect against data theft and loss of system access.

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