CVE-2020-35512: Use After Free

Published Dec 18, 2020
·
Updated

A use-after-free flaw was found in D-Bus Development branch <= 1.13.16, dbus-1.12.x stable branch <= 1.12.18, and dbus-1.10.x and older branches <= 1.10.30 when a system has multiple usernames sharing the same UID. When a set of policy rules references these usernames, D-Bus may free some memory in the heap, which is still used by data structures necessary for the other usernames sharing the UID, possibly leading to a crash or other undefined behaviors

Other sources

On Unix, avoid a use-after-free if two usernames have the same numeric uid. In older versions this could lead to a crash (denial of service) or other undefined behaviour, possibly including incorrect authorization decisions if <policy group=...> is used. Like Unix filesystems, D-Bus' model of identity cannot distinguish between users of different names with the same numeric uid, so this configuration is not advisable on systems where D-Bus will be used.

Reference:

https://bugs.gentoo.org/755392

Red Hat

Affected Software

8 affected componentsFixes available
redhat/dbus<1.10.32
1.10.32
redhat/dbus<1.12.20
1.12.20
redhat/dbus<1.13.18
1.13.18
All of the following
Freedesktop dbus=1.12.20
Linux Linux kernel
D-bus Project D-bus=1.12.20
Linux Linux kernel
debian/dbus
1.12.28-0+deb11u11.12.24-0+deb11u11.14.10-1~deb12u11.16.2-21.16.2-31.16.2-4

Event History

Feb 15, 2021
CVE Published
via MITRE·04:08 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·04:08 PM
DescriptionWeakness
Feb 23, 2026
Data Sourced
via Debian·10:50 PM
DescriptionAffected Software
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is CVE-2020-35512?

CVE-2020-35512 is a use-after-free vulnerability found in D-Bus that allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service.

2

What is the severity of CVE-2020-35512?

The severity of CVE-2020-35512 is high with a CVSS score of 7.8.

3

Which versions of D-Bus are affected by CVE-2020-35512?

D-Bus Development branch <= 1.13.16, dbus-1.12.x stable branch <= 1.12.18, and dbus-1.10.x and older branches <= 1.10.30 are affected by CVE-2020-35512.

4

How can an attacker exploit CVE-2020-35512?

An attacker can exploit CVE-2020-35512 by leveraging the use-after-free flaw to execute arbitrary code or perform a denial of service attack.

5

What is the recommended remedy for CVE-2020-35512?

The recommended remedy for CVE-2020-35512 is to update D-Bus to version 1.12.20 or higher, or 1.10.32 for older branches.

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