CVE-2023-26604
Publication date 3 March 2023
Last updated 24 July 2024
Ubuntu priority
systemd before 247 does not adequately block local privilege escalation for some Sudo configurations, e.g., plausible sudoers files in which the "systemctl status" command may be executed. Specifically, systemd does not set LESSSECURE to 1, and thus other programs may be launched from the less program. This presents a substantial security risk when running systemctl from Sudo, because less executes as root when the terminal size is too small to show the complete systemctl output.
Status
| Package | Ubuntu Release | Status |
|---|---|---|
| systemd | 24.10 oracular |
Not affected
|
| 24.04 LTS noble |
Not affected
|
|
| 22.04 LTS jammy |
Not affected
|
|
| 20.04 LTS focal |
Vulnerable
|
|
| 18.04 LTS bionic |
Vulnerable
|
|
| 16.04 LTS xenial |
Needs evaluation
|
|
| 14.04 LTS trusty |
Needs evaluation
|
Notes
rodrigo-zaiden
on https://github.com/systemd/systemd/issues/5666 upstream claims this is not a vulnerability. upstream feature SYSTEMD_PAGERSECURE implemented in systemd version 247.
mdeslaur
This is only an issue if an administrator configured systemctl access using sudo instead of using policykit, which is an unlikely scenario. Per Red Hat bug, systemctl commands that use the pager can run unprivileged. Setting priority to "low".
Severity score breakdown
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Base score |
7.8 · High
|
| Attack vector | Local |
| Attack complexity | Low |
| Privileges required | Low |
| User interaction | None |
| Scope | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | High |
| Integrity impact | High |
| Availability impact | High |
| Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |