Security News > 2022 > April > Microsoft points at Linux and shouts: Look, look! Privilege-escalation flaws here, too!

Flaws in networkd-dispatcher, a service used in the Linux world, can be exploited by a rogue logged-in user or application to escalate their privileges to root level, allowing the box to be commandeered, say Microsoft researchers.

It's nice of Redmond to point out these flaws and have them fixed in any affected distributions; the US tech giant is a big user of Linux and relies on the open-source OS throughout its empire.

"The growing number of vulnerabilities on Linux environments emphasize the need for strong monitoring of the platform's operating system and its components," wrote Jonathan Bar Or of the Microsoft 365 Defender Research Team, which, again, is pretty rich for the Windows goliath to bring up.

If you're using a vulnerable Linux distro, grab the latest updates to patch the flaw.

"This is an interesting set of vulnerabilities affecting Linux desktop users," Bisson told The Register.

"The risk footprint could be broad. Linux desktops aren't just for hobbyists. Tens of thousands of Google employees use a derivative of Debian as their desktop OS, and there are a number of other notable corporate, government and research facilities that have large Linux desktop deployments."

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/04/27/microsoft-linux-vulnerability/