CVE-2010-4170 Privilege escalation in n/a

High 7.2 Published 7 Dec 2010 Updated 7 Aug 2024

Local attackers can escalate privileges by manipulating the MODPROBE_OPTIONS environment variable in the SystemTap staprun tool.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Any signed-in user
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: Available

What is CVE-2010-4170?

CVE-2010-4170 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 7 Dec 2010. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

The staprun runtime tool in SystemTap 1.3 does not properly clear the environment before executing modprobe, which allows local users to gain privileges by setting the MODPROBE_OPTIONS environment variable to specify a malicious configuration file.

Weakness: CWE-264

Which versions are affected by CVE-2010-4170?

It affects 1 product.

Linux distribution packages (16)

`systemtap` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::as	All versions	`0:0.6.2-2.el4_8.3`
`systemtap-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::as	All versions	`0:0.6.2-2.el4_8.3`
`systemtap-runtime` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::as	All versions	`0:0.6.2-2.el4_8.3`
`systemtap-testsuite` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::as	All versions	`0:0.6.2-2.el4_8.3`
`systemtap` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::desktop	All versions	`0:0.6.2-2.el4_8.3`
`systemtap-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::desktop	All versions	`0:0.6.2-2.el4_8.3`
`systemtap-runtime` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::desktop	All versions	`0:0.6.2-2.el4_8.3`
`systemtap-testsuite` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::desktop	All versions	`0:0.6.2-2.el4_8.3`
`systemtap` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::es	All versions	`0:0.6.2-2.el4_8.3`
`systemtap-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::es	All versions	`0:0.6.2-2.el4_8.3`
`systemtap-runtime` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::es	All versions	`0:0.6.2-2.el4_8.3`
`systemtap-testsuite` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::es	All versions	`0:0.6.2-2.el4_8.3`
`systemtap` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::ws	All versions	`0:0.6.2-2.el4_8.3`
`systemtap-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::ws	All versions	`0:0.6.2-2.el4_8.3`
`systemtap-runtime` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::ws	All versions	`0:0.6.2-2.el4_8.3`
`systemtap-testsuite` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::ws	All versions	`0:0.6.2-2.el4_8.3`

Products include Systemtap Systemtap.

How do I fix CVE-2010-4170?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Is CVE-2010-4170 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2010-4170 exists.

Public exploit code: 1 Metasploit module and 3 Exploit-DB entries.

Sources

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2010-4170, GHSA-j34m-wwxr-2pj4, RHSA-2010:0895.