CVE-2018-6552: Apport treats the container PID as the global PID when /proc/<global_pid>/ is missing

Published May 31, 2018
·
Updated

Apport does not properly handle crashes originating from a PID namespace allowing local users to create certain files as root which an attacker could leverage to perform a denial of service via resource exhaustion, possibly gain root privileges, or escape from containers. The issamens() function returns True when /proc/<global pid>/ does not exist in order to indicate that the crash should be handled in the global namespace rather than inside of a container. However, the portion of the data/apport code that decides whether or not to forward a crash to a container does not always replace sys.argv[1] with the value stored in the hostpid variable when /proc/<global pid>/ does not exist which results in the container pid being used in the global namespace. This flaw affects versions 2.20.8-0ubuntu4 through 2.20.9-0ubuntu7, 2.20.7-0ubuntu3.7, 2.20.7-0ubuntu3.8, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15 through 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.17, and 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.28.

Affected Software

16 affected components
Apport Project Apport=2.14.1
Ubuntu=14.04
Apport Project Apport=2.20.9
Ubuntu=18.04
Apport Project Apport=2.20.7
Ubuntu=17.10
Apport Project Apport=2.20.1
Ubuntu=16.04
All of the following
Apport Project Apport=2.14.1
Ubuntu=14.04
All of the following
Apport Project Apport=2.20.9
Ubuntu=18.04
All of the following
Apport Project Apport=2.20.7
Ubuntu=17.10
All of the following
Apport Project Apport=2.20.1
Ubuntu=16.04

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade apport to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 2.20.9-0ubuntu7

Event History

May 31, 2018
CVE Published
via MITRE·10:00 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·10:00 PM
DescriptionWeakness
Data Sourced
via NVD·10:29 PM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Jan 11, 2024
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·11:09 PM
Description
Data Sourced
via Debian·11:09 PM
DescriptionAffected Software
Feb 20, 2026
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·08:39 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2018-6552?

CVE-2018-6552 has a medium severity level due to its potential to allow local users to create files as root.

2

How do I fix CVE-2018-6552?

To fix CVE-2018-6552, update Apport to its latest version that addresses this vulnerability.

3

What versions of Apport are affected by CVE-2018-6552?

CVE-2018-6552 primarily affects Apport versions 2.14.1, 2.20.1, 2.20.7, and 2.20.9.

4

Which Ubuntu versions are impacted by CVE-2018-6552?

CVE-2018-6552 impacts Ubuntu 14.04 LTS along with other Apport versions but does not affect Ubuntu 16.04, 17.10, or 18.04 LTS.

5

Can CVE-2018-6552 lead to privilege escalation?

Yes, CVE-2018-6552 can potentially lead to privilege escalation and resource exhaustion through local exploitation.

Contact

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