Root privilege escalation via group-writable cron script
Published May 26, 2021 · Updated Aug 5, 2024
Improper privilege management in Versa Analytics allows local users in the versa group to gain root privileges through a scheduled job. A root cron entry executes a script whose permissions allow members of the versa group to replace or modify its commands. Exploitation requires low-privileged local code execution and versa-group membership, after which attacker-controlled commands run as root.
Summary
What happened
Improper privilege management in Versa Analytics allows local users in the versa group to gain root privileges through a scheduled job. A root cron entry executes a script whose permissions allow members of the versa group to replace or modify its commands. Exploitation requires low-privileged local code execution and versa-group membership, after which attacker-controlled commands run as root.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2018-16497
- Published
- May 26, 2021
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2024
- Vendor
- Versa Networks
- Product
- Versa Analytics
- Classifications
- CWE-269, T1053.003
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 26, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 5, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=Fixed Versions: 16.1R2S11, 20.2.2, 21.1.1, 21.2.1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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