# CVE-2013-4288: Race condition in n/a > Local attackers can exploit a race condition in PolicyKit to bypass authorization checks and gain elevated privileges. - **Severity:** High 7.2 (`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`) - **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:** Yes - **Published:** 3 Oct 2013 - **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024 - **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2013-4288, GHSA-6wv7-fpg8-f44q, RHSA-2013:1270 ## What is CVE-2013-4288? CVE-2013-4288 is a high-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 3 Oct 2013. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. ### Official description Race condition in PolicyKit (aka polkit) allows local users to bypass intended PolicyKit restrictions and gain privileges by starting a setuid or pkexec process before the authorization check is performed, related to (1) the polkit_unix_process_new API function, (2) the dbus API, or (3) the --process (unix-process) option for authorization to pkcheck. Weakness: CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2013-4288? It affects 4 products. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `polkit` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:0.96-5.el6_4 | | `polkit-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:0.96-5.el6_4 | | `polkit-desktop-policy` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:0.96-5.el6_4 | | `polkit-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:0.96-5.el6_4 | | `polkit-docs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:0.96-5.el6_4 | | `polkit` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:0.96-5.el6_4 | | `polkit-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:0.96-5.el6_4 | | `polkit-desktop-policy` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:0.96-5.el6_4 | | `polkit-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:0.96-5.el6_4 | | `polkit-docs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:0.96-5.el6_4 | | `polkit` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:0.96-5.el6_4 | | `polkit-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:0.96-5.el6_4 | | `polkit-desktop-policy` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:0.96-5.el6_4 | | `polkit-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:0.96-5.el6_4 | | `polkit-docs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:0.96-5.el6_4 | | `polkit` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation | All versions | 0:0.96-5.el6_4 | | `polkit-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation | All versions | 0:0.96-5.el6_4 | | `polkit-desktop-policy` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation | All versions | 0:0.96-5.el6_4 | | `polkit-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation | All versions | 0:0.96-5.el6_4 | | `polkit-docs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation | All versions | 0:0.96-5.el6_4 | Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Opensuse Opensuse, Polkit Project Polkit, Redhat Enterprise Linux. ## How do I fix CVE-2013-4288? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2013-4288 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2013-4288 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux - [CVE-2020-11651](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11651/): SaltStack Salt Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2020-7247](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7247/): OpenSMTPD Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2019-16928](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16928/): Exim Out-of-bounds Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2018-6789](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6789/): Exim Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2015-2590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2590/): Oracle Java SE and Java SE Embedded Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2013-4288 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2013-4288 is a high-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 3 Oct 2013. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2013-4288 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page. Task: 1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies. 2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it. 3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead. 4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why. 5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing. Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4288/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4288/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2013-4288 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-4288 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2013-4288 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4288/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.