CVE-2021-3560KEV · OVERDUECWE-863

Red Hat Polkit Incorrect Authorization Vulnerability

High · published February 16, 2022

Patch now

Confirmed exploited, and the score agrees

CVSS calls it high at 7.8. It is confirmed in active exploitation. It sits in the 97.8th percentile for exploit probability.

1239
days past CISA
deadline
CVSS v3.1
7.8
EPSS
24%
Percentile
97.8
In the wild
Confirmed
What it is

🚨 An unprivileged local attacker can pull off a shocking privilege escalation here! With a simple trick, they could bypass credential checks and elevate their access to root level. 😱 Think of this like a restaurant where an unauthorized person sneaks into the kitchen, bypassing the security check to get the keys to the pantry. Suddenly, they can serve up whatever dish they want, including some real trouble! This vulnerability poses an absolutely devastating risk to your system's data confidentiality and integrity because an attacker could create local administrators at will. They could access sensitive information, modify system settings, or even take down critical services, leading to potential chaos!

Put simply

Think of this like a restaurant where an unauthorized person sneaks into the kitchen, bypassing the security check to get the keys to the pantry. Suddenly, they can serve up whatever dish they want, including some real trouble! CVE-2021-3560 allows attackers to bypass credential checks for D-Bus requests in polkit, enabling them to elevate privileges to root without proper authentication. This flaw opens the door for unauthorized local users to gain control over the system.

What to do

This vulnerability poses an absolutely devastating risk to your system's data confidentiality and integrity because an attacker could create local administrators at will. They could access sensitive information, modify system settings, or even take down critical services, leading to potential chaos! To safeguard your systems, patch to version 0.117 or later immediately. Additionally, review your system configurations to limit local access where possible. Implement monitoring to detect any suspicious activities. 🛡️ You’ve got this! With timely action, you can fortify your defenses and keep your system secure! 💪✨

The record
Technical detail
CVSS v3.1
7.8 · HIGH
Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS v4.0
Not supplied
EPSS
0.23708 · 97.8th percentile
Weakness
CWE-863 · Incorrect Authorization
Published
2022-02-16T00:00Z
KEV added
2023-05-12 · due 2023-06-02
EPSS history
Timeline
  • 12 MAY 00:00Z
    Added to CISA KEV — remediate by Jun 2
    kev
  • 16 FEB 00:00Z
    It was found that polkit could be tricked into bypassing the credential checks for D-Bus requests, elevating the privileges of the requestor to the root user
    cvelistv5