CVE-2021-34556
Description
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel, where a BPF program can obtain sensitive information from kernel memory via a Speculative Store Bypass side-channel attack. This issue occurs when the protection mechanism neglects the possibility of uninitialized memory locations on the BPF stack. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to confidentiality.
Statement
For the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 fixed with the Errata RHSA-2021:4356.
Mitigation
The default Red Hat Enterprise Linux kernel setting prevents unprivileged users from being able to use eBPF via the kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled sysctl. As such, exploiting this issue would require a privileged user with CAP_SYS_ADMIN or root.
For the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 the eBPF for unprivileged users is always disabled. For the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 to confirm the current state, inspect the sysctl with the command:
cat /proc/sys/kernel/unprivileged_bpf_disabled
The setting of 1 (default) would mean that unprivileged users cannot use eBPF. Otherwise, to disable eBPF for unprivileged users, add:
kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled = 1
To the file "/etc/sysctl.d/disable-ebpf.conf"
Then running the following command as root:
# sudo sysctl --system
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).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 4.4 | 5.5 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | N/A |
| Privileges Required | High | Low | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | None | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | N/A |
| Confidentiality | High | High | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | N/A |
| Availability Impact | None | None | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Red Hat CVSS v3 Score Explanation
Red Hat Product Security differs from standard upstream Linux kernel as only root or processes with CAP_SYS_ADMIN are able to load eBPF programs.
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Application Data
Frequently Asked Questions
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