CVE-2011-2503 Race condition in n/a

Low 3.7 Published 26 Jul 2012 Updated 17 Sep 2024

Local attackers can exploit a race condition in SystemTap's staprun to bypass signature validation and gain elevated privileges.

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-2011-2503?

CVE-2011-2503 is a low-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 26 Jul 2012. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

The insert_module function in runtime/staprun/staprun_funcs.c in the systemtap runtime tool (staprun) in SystemTap before 1.6 does not properly validate a module when loading it, which allows local users to gain privileges via a race condition between the signature validation and the module initialization.

Weakness: CWE-20

Which versions are affected by CVE-2011-2503?

It affects 1 product.

Linux distribution packages (16)

`systemtap` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client	All versions	`0:1.3-9.el5`
`systemtap-client` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client	All versions	`0:1.3-9.el5`
`systemtap-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client	All versions	`0:1.3-9.el5`
`systemtap-initscript` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client	All versions	`0:1.3-9.el5`
`systemtap-runtime` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client	All versions	`0:1.3-9.el5`
`systemtap-sdt-devel` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client	All versions	`0:1.3-9.el5`
`systemtap-server` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client	All versions	`0:1.3-9.el5`
`systemtap-testsuite` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client	All versions	`0:1.3-9.el5`
`systemtap` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server	All versions	`0:1.3-9.el5`
`systemtap-client` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server	All versions	`0:1.3-9.el5`
`systemtap-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server	All versions	`0:1.3-9.el5`
`systemtap-initscript` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server	All versions	`0:1.3-9.el5`
`systemtap-runtime` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server	All versions	`0:1.3-9.el5`
`systemtap-sdt-devel` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server	All versions	`0:1.3-9.el5`
`systemtap-server` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server	All versions	`0:1.3-9.el5`
`systemtap-testsuite` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server	All versions	`0:1.3-9.el5`

Products include Systemtap Systemtap.

How do I fix CVE-2011-2503?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

Is CVE-2011-2503 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2011-2503 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Sources

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2011-2503, GHSA-q2gw-mhhj-386x, RHSA-2011:1089.