Headline
Gentoo Linux Security Advisory 202310-08
Gentoo Linux Security Advisory 202310-8 - A root privilege escalation through setuid executable and cron job has been discovered in man-db. Versions greater than or equal to 2.8.5 are affected.
Gentoo Linux Security Advisory GLSA 202310-08
https://security.gentoo.org/
Severity: High
Title: man-db: privilege escalation
Date: October 08, 2023
Bugs: #662438
ID: 202310-08
Synopsis
A root privilege escalation through setuid executable and cron job has
been discovered in man-db.
Background
man-db is a man replacement that utilizes BerkeleyDB instead of flat
files.
Affected packages
Package Vulnerable Unaffected
sys-apps/man-db < 2.8.5 >= 2.8.5
Description
A root privilege escalation through setuid executable and cron job has
been discovered in man-db. Please review the CVE identifier referenced
below for details.
Impact
A local user with access to the man user or group can elevate privileges
to root.
Workaround
There is no known workaround at this time.
Resolution
All man-db users should upgrade to the latest version:
emerge --sync
emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose “>=sys-apps/man-db-2.8.5”
References
[ 1 ] CVE-2018-25078
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-25078
Availability
This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at
the Gentoo Security Website:
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202310-08
Concerns?
Security is a primary focus of Gentoo Linux and ensuring the
confidentiality and security of our users’ machines is of utmost
importance to us. Any security concerns should be addressed to
[email protected] or alternatively, you may file a bug at
https://bugs.gentoo.org.
License
Copyright 2023 Gentoo Foundation, Inc; referenced text
belongs to its owner(s).
The contents of this document are licensed under the
Creative Commons - Attribution / Share Alike license.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5
Related news
man-db before 2.8.5 on Gentoo allows local users (with access to the man user account) to gain root privileges because /usr/bin/mandb is executed by root but not owned by root. (Also, the owner can strip the setuid and setgid bits.)