CVE-2019-15790: Apport reads PID files with elevated privileges
Apport reads and writes information on a crashed process to /proc/pid with elevated privileges. Apport then determines which user the crashed process belongs to by reading /proc/pid through getpidinfo() in data/apport. An unprivileged user could exploit this to read information about a privileged running process by exploiting PID recycling. This information could then be used to obtain ASLR offsets for a process with an existing memory corruption vulnerability. The initial fix introduced regressions in the Python Apport library due to a missing argument in Report.addprocenviron in apport/report.py. It also caused an autopkgtest failure when reading /proc/pid and with Python 2 compatibility by reading /proc maps. The initial and subsequent regression fixes are in 2.20.11-0ubuntu16, 2.20.11-0ubuntu8.6, 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.12, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.22 and 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.29+esm3.
Affected Software
Remediation
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2019-15790?
CVE-2019-15790 has been classified as a medium-severity vulnerability due to the potential for unprivileged users to read sensitive information.
How do I fix CVE-2019-15790?
To mitigate CVE-2019-15790, update Apport to the latest version provided by your operating system's package manager.
Which software is affected by CVE-2019-15790?
CVE-2019-15790 affects Ubuntu versions 14.04, 16.04, 18.04, 19.04, and 19.10 using the Apport project.
Can CVE-2019-15790 be exploited remotely?
CVE-2019-15790 does not allow for remote exploitation as it requires local access to the affected system.
What type of vulnerability is CVE-2019-15790?
CVE-2019-15790 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability that allows unprivileged users to access sensitive crash data.