Title: Linux Kernel 'ptrace_attach()' Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Severity: HIGH
Description:
The Linux kernel is prone to a local privilege-escalation vulnerability.
The vulnerability arises because the 'ptrace_attach()' function of 'kernel/ptrace.c' uses an incorrect 'cred_exec_mutex' value. A local attacker can trigger this issue by calling 'ptrace(PTRACE_ATTACH)' on a process during an 'execve()' system call to a SUID binary.
The attacker can exploit the issue to execute a setuid binary with superuser privileges, resulting in a complete compromise of the affected computer.
This issue affects Linux kernel 2.6.29; other versions may also be affected.
Affected Products:
- Linux kernel 2.6.29
References:
- Linux: CRED: Inaugurate COW credentials
- Linux: CVE request: kernel: ptrace_attach: fix the usage of ->cred_exec_mutex
- Linux: ptrace: ptrace_attach: fix the usage of ->cred_exec_mutex
- kernel.org: Linux kernel Homepage
- xorl: Linux kernel PTrace Race Condition
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