# CVE-2017-7572: Race condition in n/a

> A race condition in Back In Time allows local attackers to bypass polkit authorization checks and escalate privileges by exploiting process replacement timing.

- **Severity:** High 8.1 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 6 Apr 2017
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2017-7572, GHSA-gq8h-7hr7-25cg, openSUSE-SU-2024:10647-1

## What is CVE-2017-7572?

CVE-2017-7572 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 6 Apr 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The _checkPolkitPrivilege function in serviceHelper.py in Back In Time (aka backintime) 1.1.18 and earlier uses a deprecated polkit authorization method (unix-process) that is subject to a race condition (time of check, time of use). With this authorization method, the owner of a process requesting a polkit operation is checked by polkitd via /proc/<pid>/status, by which time the requesting process may have been replaced by a different process with the same PID that has different privileges then the original requester.

Weakness: CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-7572?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Backintime Project Backintime.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-7572?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2017-7572 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-7572 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2017-16667](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-16667/): Command injection in n/a (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-7572 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-7572 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 6 Apr 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-7572 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2017-7572/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-7572/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-7572
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-7572
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-7572

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-7572/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.