Looney Tunables: Exploits Released for Linux Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
October 6, 2023
A number of experts have recently disclosed exploits for a Linux local privilege escalation flaw known as Looney Tunables. This vulnerability, identified as CVE-2023-4911, is a buffer overflow problem found in the GNU C Library’s dynamic loader ld.so. It is activated when processing the GLIBC_TUNABLES environment variable. A potential attacker could exploit this vulnerability to execute code with elevated privileges. The advisory stated, “A buffer overflow was discovered in the GNU C Library’s dynamic loader ld.so while processing the GLIBC_TUNABLES environment variable. This issue could allow a local attacker to use maliciously crafted GLIBC_TUNABLES environment variables when launching binaries with SUID permission to execute code with elevated privileges.”
The flaw, also referred to as Looney Tunables, was unveiled last week by the Qualys’ Threat Research Unit, which also released a proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit. The buffer overflow impacts several Linux distributions, including Debian, Fedora, and Ubuntu. The researchers emphasized the extensive nature of this vulnerability, stating, “We have successfully identified and exploited this vulnerability (a local privilege escalation that grants full root privileges) on the default installations of Fedora 37 and 38, Ubuntu 22.04 and 23.04, and Debian 12 and 13.”
The researchers also noted that the vulnerability likely affects other distributions, although Alpine Linux remains an exception due to its use of musl libc instead of glibc. The flaw was first introduced in April 2021. Several other security researchers have since developed their own PoC exploits for this flaw.
The report concluded by warning of the potential risks, stating, “Although we are withholding our exploit code for now, the ease with which the buffer overflow can be transformed into a data-only attack implies that other research teams could soon produce and release exploits. This could put countless systems at risk, especially given the extensive use of glibc across Linux distributions.”
While some distributions like Alpine Linux are exempt due to their use of musl libc instead of glibc, many popular distributions are potentially vulnerable and could be exploited in the near future.
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