CVE-2021-38185

Description

A flaw was found in cpio. An integer overflow that triggers an out-of-bounds heap write can allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code via a crafted pattern file. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality and integrity as well as system availability.

Statement

cpio on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 is compiled with full RELRO, which mitigates the exploitation technique demonstrated in the report. Additionally, this requires the use of an unusual set of parameters.

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 HatNVDcve.org
Base Score77.87.8
Attack VectorLocalLocalLocal
Attack ComplexityHighLowLow
Privileges RequiredNoneNoneNone
User InteractionRequiredRequiredRequired
ScopeUnchangedUnchangedUnchanged
ConfidentialityHighHighHigh
Integrity ImpactHighHighHigh
Availability ImpactHighHighHigh

Vector

Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Understanding the Weakness (CWE)

Integrity

Technical Impact: Modify Memory; Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands

Write operations could cause memory corruption. In some cases, an adversary can modify control data such as return addresses in order to execute unexpected code.

Availability

Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart

Attempting to access out-of-range, invalid, or unauthorized memory could cause the product to crash.

Other

Technical Impact: Unexpected State

Subsequent write operations can produce undefined or unexpected results.

Frequently Asked Questions

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