SOC status:Duty analyst on shift

UK Cyber Defence
VulnerabilityModified

CVE-2019-3842

It is possible for an attacker, in some particular configurations, to set a XDG_SEAT environment variable which allows for commands to be checked against polkit policies using the "allow_active" element rather than "allow_any".

HIGH 7.0EPSS 1.21%

Does this matter?

High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (1.21%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.

Description

In systemd before v242-rc4, it was discovered that pam_systemd does not properly sanitize the environment before using the XDG_SEAT variable. It is possible for an attacker, in some particular configurations, to set a XDG_SEAT environment variable which allows for commands to be checked against polkit policies using the "allow_active" element rather than "allow_any".

CVSS 3.1
7.0 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS
1.21% probability · 67th percentile
CISA KEV
Not listed
Weakness
CWE-285, CWE-863
Affected
systemd project/systemd · redhat/enterprise linux · fedoraproject/fedora · debian/debian linux
Source
secalert@redhat.com

References

Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA. Refreshed daily.