Local service interruption via snapctl argument confusion
Published May 31, 2024 · Updated Sep 6, 2024
Authorization bypass in Canonical snapd allows local users to exhaust system memory by invoking privileged snapctl mount actions. The snapctl authorization parser treats a help flag after the explicit -- option terminator as a help request, allowing a non-root caller to pass the privilege check for a restricted command. Exploitation requires a confined snap with an administrator-approved mount-control connection; repeated mounts can consume memory until host availability is impaired.
Summary
What happened
Authorization bypass in Canonical snapd allows local users to exhaust system memory by invoking privileged snapctl mount actions. The snapctl authorization parser treats a help flag after the explicit -- option terminator as a help request, allowing a non-root caller to pass the privilege check for a restricted command. Exploitation requires a confined snap with an administrator-approved mount-control connection; repeated mounts can consume memory until host availability is impaired.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-5138
- Published
- May 31, 2024
- Updated
- Sep 6, 2024
- Vendor
- Canonical
- Product
- snapd
- Classifications
- CWE-20, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 31, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 6, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=0 <68ee9c6aa916ab87dbfd9a26030690f2cabf1e14
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Public exploit references
- Canonical snapctl argument-parser regression testproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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