# CVE-2018-13405: Privilege escalation in n/a > Local attackers can escalate privileges by creating SGID executable files in writable SGID directories due to incorrect group ownership assignment. - **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`) - **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:** 6 Jul 2018 - **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024 - **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2018-13405, GHSA-5p56-pcgw-42mf, RHSA-2019:0717, RHSA-2019:2566, UBUNTU-CVE-2018-13405 ## What is CVE-2018-13405? CVE-2018-13405 is a high-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 6 Jul 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. ### Official description The inode_init_owner function in fs/inode.c in the Linux kernel through 3.16 allows local users to create files with an unintended group ownership, in a scenario where a directory is SGID to a certain group and is writable by a user who is not a member of that group. Here, the non-member can trigger creation of a plain file whose group ownership is that group. The intended behavior was that the non-member can trigger creation of a directory (but not a plain file) whose group ownership is that group. The non-member can escalate privileges by making the plain file executable and SGID. Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-13405? It affects 27 products. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `kernel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-abi-whitelists` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-debug` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-debug-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-debug-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-debuginfo-common-i686` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-doc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-firmware` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-headers` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `perf` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `perf-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `python-perf` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `python-perf-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-abi-whitelists` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-debug` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-debug-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-debug-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-debuginfo-common-i686` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-doc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-firmware` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-headers` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `perf` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `perf-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `python-perf` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `python-perf-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-abi-whitelists` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-bootwrapper` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-debug` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-debug-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-debug-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | | `kernel-debuginfo-common-i686` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.6.32-754.12.1.el6 | Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Debian Debian Linux, F5 Big-Ip Access Policy Manager, F5 Big-Ip Advanced Firewall Manager, F5 Big-Ip Analytics, F5 Big-Ip Application Acceleration Manager, F5 Big-Ip Application Security Manager, F5 Big-Ip Domain Name System, F5 Big-Ip Edge Gateway, F5 Big-Ip Fraud Protection Service, F5 Big-Ip Global Traffic Manager, F5 Big-Ip Link Controller, F5 Big-Ip Local Traffic Manager, F5 Big-Ip Policy Enforcement Manager, F5 Big-Ip Webaccelerator, Fedoraproject Fedora, Linux kernel, Redhat Enterprise Linux Aus, Redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop, Redhat Enterprise Linux Eus and 7 more. ## How do I fix CVE-2018-13405? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2018-13405 being exploited? It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2018-13405 exists. Public exploit code: - Linux (Ubuntu) - Other Users coredumps Can Be Read via setgid Directory and killpriv Bypass (exploitdb) ## 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-2018-13405 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2018-13405 is a high-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 6 Jul 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2018-13405 exists. 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-2018-13405/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-13405/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-13405 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-13405 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-13405 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-13405/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.