CVE-2021-22543
Description
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel’s KVM implementation, where improper handing of the VM_IO|VM_PFNMAP VMAs in KVM bypasses RO checks and leads to pages being freed while still accessible by the VMM and guest. This flaw allows users who can start and control a VM to read/write random pages of memory, resulting in local privilege escalation. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to confidentiality, integrity, and system availability.
Statement
Both Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 leverage udev to set the proper permissions (ugo=rw) of the /dev/kvm device, making it accessible to all users. It is worth noting that while the KVM rule is part of the main udev package in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, the same rule is shipped with the qemu-kvm package in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7. In other words, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 does not expose /dev/kvm to unprivileged users by default, as long as the qemu-kvm package is not installed.
Mitigation
Red Hat has investigated whether a possible mitigation exists for this issue, and has not been able to identify a practical example. Please update as soon as possible.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 7 | 7.8 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | High | Low | N/A |
| Privileges Required | Low | Low | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | None | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | N/A |
| Confidentiality | High | High | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | High | High | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | High | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Application Data; Read Files or Directories
An attacker could bypass intended access restrictions to read sensitive data, either by reading the data directly from a data store that is not correctly restricted, or by accessing insufficiently-protected, privileged functionality to read the data.
Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Application Data; Modify Files or Directories
An attacker could bypass intended access restrictions to modify sensitive data, either by writing the data directly to a data store that is not correctly restricted, or by accessing insufficiently-protected, privileged functionality to write the data.
Access Control
Technical Impact: Gain Privileges or Assume Identity; Bypass Protection Mechanism
An attacker could bypass intended access restrictions to gain privileges by modifying or reading critical data directly, or by accessing privileged functionality.
Confidentiality,Integrity,Availability
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
An attacker could use elevated privileges to execute unauthorized commands or code.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU); DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory); DoS: Resource Consumption (Other)
An attacker could gain unauthorized access to resources on the system and excessively consume those resources, leading to a denial of service.
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