CVE-2023-42917
Description
A flaw was found in WebKitGTK. Processing malicious web content may lead to remote code execution. This vulnerability is known to be actively exploited in the wild and was included in the CISA's KEV catalog.
Statement
All versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux are affected to this vulnerability. To exploit this flaw, an attacker needs to trick a user into processing or loading malicious web content. For this reason, this flaw was rated with an important, and not critical, severity.
Mitigation
Do not process or load untrusted web content with WebKitGTK.
In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, the following packages require WebKitGTK4: evolution-data-server, glade, gnome-boxes, gnome-initial-setup, gnome-online-accounts, gnome-shell, shotwell, sushi and yelp.
This vulnerability can only be exploited when these packages are installed in the system and being used via a graphical interface to process untrusted web content, via GNOME for example. In gnome-shell, the vulnerability can be exploited by an attacker from the local network without user interaction.
To mitigate this vulnerability, consider removing these packages. Note that some of these packages are required by GNOME, removing them will also remove GNOME and other packages, breaking functionality. However, the server can still be used via the terminal interface.
Additionally, WebKitGTK3 is not required by any package. Therefore, it can be removed without consequences or break of functionality.
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 | 8.8 | 8.8 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Network | Network | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | N/A |
| Privileges Required | None | None | N/A |
| User Interaction | Required | Required | 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:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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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