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systemd DHCP Code Execution Vulnerability

A vulnerability has been disclosed in the systemd software suite used to provide application start-up and management services for Linux-based operating systems.
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Summary

A vulnerability has been disclosed in the systemd software suite used to provide application start-up and management services for Linux-based operating systems.

Threat details

The vulnerability lies in how the systemd-networkd login management client handles malformed DHCPv6 packets. When received, the client cannot correctly track the buffer size when reconstructing the packets, resulting in a buffer overflow.

A local attacker could trigger a buffer overflow by advertising themselves as a DHCP server and sending malicious packets to an affected device. They could then exploit the buffer overflow to escalate their privileges or execute code on an affected device.

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Remediation steps

Type Step
The latest version of systemd has addressed this vulnerability and it has now been passed to OS vendors for integration. Organisations are encouraged to contact their relevant IT providers and patch their affected systems as updates become available.

CVE Vulnerabilities

Last edited: 17 February 2020 12:55 pm