CVE-2020-27777 Privilege escalation in kernel
A local root user on PowerVM or KVM pseries systems with Secure Boot can escalate privileges to kernel level due to improper RTAS memory access handling.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- An administrator
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2020-27777?
CVE-2020-27777 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 15 Dec 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
A flaw was found in the way RTAS handled memory accesses in userspace to kernel communication. On a locked down (usually due to Secure Boot) guest system running on top of PowerVM or KVM hypervisors (pseries platform) a root like local user could use this flaw to further increase their privileges to that of a running kernel.
Weakness: CWE-862
Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-27777?
It affects 3 products.
Products include Linux kernel, Redhat Enterprise Linux, Redhat Openshift Container Platform.
How do I fix CVE-2020-27777?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2020-27777 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-27777 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2020-27777, GHSA-w5hm-w8cx-wrwr, UBUNTU-CVE-2020-27777.