Security News

Linux distros haunted by Polkit-geist for 12+ years: Bug grants root access to any user
2022-01-26 01:02

Linux vendors on Tuesday issued patches for a memory corruption vulnerability in a component called polkit that allows an unprivileged logged-in user to gain full root access on a system in its default configuration. Security vendor Qualys found the flaw and published details in a coordinated disclosure.

Linux system service bug gives root on all major distros, exploit released
2022-01-25 20:44

A vulnerability in Polkit's pkexec component identified as CVE-2021-4034 is present in the default configuration of all major Linux distributions and can be exploited to gain full root privileges on the system, researchers warn today. Researchers at Qualys information security company found that the pkexec program could be used by local attackers to increase privileges to root on default installations of Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and CentOS. They warn that PwnKit is likely exploitable on other Linux operating systems as well.

Linux system service bug gives you root on every major distro
2022-01-25 20:44

A vulnerability in Polkit's pkexec component that is present in the default configuration of all major Linux distributions can be exploited to gain full root privileges on the system, researchers warn today. Identified as CVE-2021-4034 and named PwnKit, the security issue has been tracked to the initial commit of pkexec, more than 12 years ago, meaning that all Polkit versions are affected.

Linux kernel bug can let hackers escape Kubernetes containers
2022-01-25 16:56

A vulnerability affecting Linux kernel and tracked as CVE-2022-0185 can be used to escape containers in Kubernetes, giving access to resources on the host system. CVE-2022-0185 is a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the "File System Context" Linux kernel component that can lead to an out-of-bounds write, denial of service, and arbitrary code execution.

Linux Servers at Risk of RCE Due to Critical CWP Bugs
2022-01-24 23:08

Researchers have discovered two critical bugs in Control Web Panel - a popular web hosting management software used by 200K+ servers - that could allow for remote code execution as root on vulnerable Linux servers. CWP, formerly known as CentOS Web Panel, is an open-source Linux control panel software used for creating and managing web hosting environments.

CWP bugs allow code execution as root on Linux servers, patch now
2022-01-24 19:34

Two security vulnerabilities that impact the Control Web Panel software can be chained by unauthenticated attackers to gain remote code execution as root on vulnerable Linux servers. CWP, previously known as CentOS Web Panel, is a free Linux control panel for managing dedicated web hosting servers and virtual private servers.

Linux-Targeted Malware Increased by 35%
2022-01-24 12:27

Malware targeting Linux systems increased by 35% in 2021 compared to 2020. XorDDoS, Mirai and Mozi malware families accounted for over 22% of Linux-targeted threats observed by CrowdStrike in 2021.

Critical Bugs in Control Web Panel Expose Linux Servers to RCE Attacks
2022-01-21 23:25

Researchers have disclosed details of two critical security vulnerabilities in Control Web Panel that could be abused as part of an exploit chain to achieve pre-authenticated remote code execution on affected servers. Tracked as CVE-2021-45467, the issue concerns a case of a file inclusion vulnerability, which occurs when a web application is tricked into exposing or running arbitrary files on the web server.

Linux malware sees 35% growth during 2021
2022-01-15 15:12

The number of malware infections targeting Linux devices rose by 35% in 2021, most commonly to recruit IoT devices for DDoS attacks. In 2021, there was a 35% rise in malware targeting Linux systems compared to 2020.

Serious Security: Linux full-disk encryption bug fixed – patch now!
2022-01-14 21:58

With FDE, everything gets encrypted, including unused parts of the disk, deleted sectors, filenames, swapfile data, the apps you're using, the operating system files you've installed, and even the disk space you've deliberately zeroed out to forcibly overwrite what was there before. Did you use the right cryptographic algorithm? Did you generate the encryption keys reliably? Did you handle the issue of data integrity properly? Can you change passwords safely and quickly? How easy is it to lock yourself out by mistake? What if you want to adjust the encryption parameters as your corporate policies evolve?