CVE-2019-6133: Race Condition

Published Jan 8, 2019
·
Updated

In PolicyKit (aka polkit) 0.115, the "start time" protection mechanism can be bypassed because fork() is not atomic, and therefore authorization decisions are improperly cached. This is related to lack of uid checking in polkitbackend/polkitbackendinteractiveauthority.c.

Other sources

polkit has a vulnerability that allows a local attacker to hijack a PID during an authentication attempt by a non-root user and subsequently execute code as the authenticated process.

Upstream patch:

https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/polkit/polkit/commit/c898fdf4b1aafaa04f8ada9d73d77c8bb76e2f81 https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/polkit/polkit/mergerequests/19 https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=7b55851367136b1efd84d98fea81ba57a98304cf

Red Hat

Affected Software

19 affected componentsFixes available
Polkit Project Polkit=0.115
Debian Debian Linux=8.0
redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop=7.0
redhat Enterprise Linux Server=7.0
redhat Enterprise Linux Server Aus=7.6
redhat Enterprise Linux Server Eus=7.6
redhat Enterprise Linux Server Tus=7.6
redhat Enterprise Linux Workstation=7.0
redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop=6.0
redhat Enterprise Linux Server=6.0
redhat Enterprise Linux Server Aus=6.6
redhat Enterprise Linux Workstation=6.0
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=12.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=14.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=16.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=18.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=18.10
debian/linux
5.10.223-15.10.262-16.1.176-16.1.180-16.12.94-16.12.101-17.1.7-17.1.8-1
debian/policykit-1
0.105-31+deb11u10.105-31+deb11u2122-3126-2127-3

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade debian/linux to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 5.10.223-1Fixed in 5.10.262-1Fixed in 6.1.176-1Fixed in 6.1.180-1Fixed in 6.12.94-1Fixed in 6.12.101-1Fixed in 7.1.7-1Fixed in 7.1.8-1
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade debian/policykit-1 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 0.105-31+deb11u1Fixed in 0.105-31+deb11u2Fixed in 122-3Fixed in 126-2Fixed in 127-3

Event History

Jan 8, 2019
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·04:17 AM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Jan 11, 2019
CVE Published
via MITRE·02:00 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·02:00 PM
Description
Data Sourced
via NVD·02:29 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Jan 11, 2024
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·11:31 PM
Description
Jul 4, 2026
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·11:29 AM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Aug 12, 2026
Data Sourced
via Debian·12:47 PM
DescriptionAffected Software
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2019-6133?

CVE-2019-6133 has been rated as a high severity vulnerability due to its potential to bypass authorization mechanisms.

2

How do I fix CVE-2019-6133?

To fix CVE-2019-6133, update to the patched versions of PolicyKit or Linux packages that address this vulnerability.

3

What systems are affected by CVE-2019-6133?

CVE-2019-6133 affects various Linux distributions using PolicyKit version 0.115 and specific Linux kernel versions.

4

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2019-6133?

CVE-2019-6133 is an authorization bypass vulnerability that exploits race conditions in the PolicyKit framework.

5

Is CVE-2019-6133 exploitable remotely?

CVE-2019-6133 is primarily a local privilege escalation vulnerability and is not typically exploitable remotely.

Contact

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