CVE Catalog

Actively exploited in the wild

Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Linux - Kernel · Listed in the CISA KEV since 2022-10-20. This indicates confirmed attacks in production environments.

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

CVE-2021-3493

HighCVSS 8.8KEV
Published: Updated: Translated: NVD NIST

Summary

The overlayfs implementation in the Linux kernel did not properly validate with respect to user namespaces the setting of file capabilities on files in an underlying file system. Due to the combination of unprivileged user namespaces along with a patch carried in the Ubuntu kernel to allow unprivileged overlay mounts, an attacker could use this to gain elevated privileges.

Risk Assessment

The risk includes privilege escalation to root, potentially leading to full system compromise.

Recommendation

Update the Ubuntu kernel to a version containing the fix for this vulnerability.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

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Original NVD description (English source)

The overlayfs implementation in the linux kernel did not properly validate with respect to user namespaces the setting of file capabilities on files in an underlying file system. Due to the combination of unprivileged user namespaces along with a patch carried in the Ubuntu kernel to allow unprivileged overlay mounts, an attacker could use this to gain elevated privileges.

Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS