Process crash via dangling AWK field pointer
Published Nov 27, 2023 · Updated Aug 2, 2024
Use-after-free in the BusyBox 1.36.1 AWK applet allows local users to crash the process by running a crafted AWK program. While evaluating two field operands, evaluate() can let the right operand reallocate Fields after retaining a pointer to the left field, then pass that dangling pointer through getvar_s() to xasprintf(). Execution of attacker-controlled AWK input is required; the demonstrated consequence is a heap read from freed memory and process termination.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in the BusyBox 1.36.1 AWK applet allows local users to crash the process by running a crafted AWK program. While evaluating two field operands, evaluate() can let the right operand reallocate Fields after retaining a pointer to the left field, then pass that dangling pointer through getvar_s() to xasprintf(). Execution of attacker-controlled AWK input is required; the demonstrated consequence is a heap read from freed memory and process termination.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-42363
- Published
- Nov 27, 2023
- Updated
- Aug 2, 2024
- Vendor
- Unknown vendor
- Product
- Unknown product
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1204.002
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Nov 27, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 2, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
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What is affected?
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Published CVSS scores
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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
- BusyBox bug 15865 proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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