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posted by Fnord666 on Monday July 03 2017, @10:12PM   Printer-friendly
from the it's-a-feature dept.

Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard

A bug in Linux's systemd init system causes root permissions to be given to services associated with invalid usernames, and while this could pose a security risk, exploitation is not an easy task.

A developer who uses the online moniker "mapleray" last week discovered a problem related to systemd unit files, the configuration files used to describe resources and their behavior. Mapleray noticed that a systemd unit file containing an invalid username – one that starts with a digit (e.g. "0day") – will initiate the targeted process with root privileges instead of regular user privileges.

Systemd is designed not to allow usernames that start with a numeric character, but Red Hat, CentOS and other Linux distributions do allow such usernames.

"It's systemd's parsing of the User= parameter that determines the naming doesn't follow a set of conventions, and decides to fall back to its default value, root," explained developer Mattias Geniar.

While this sounds like it could be leveraged to obtain root privileges on any Linux installation using systemd, exploiting the bug in an attack is not an easy task. Geniar pointed out that the attacker needs root privileges in the first place to edit the systemd unit file and use it.

[...] Systemd developers have classified this issue as "not-a-bug" and they apparently don't plan on fixing it. Linux users are divided on the matter – some believe this is a vulnerability that could pose a serious security risk, while others agree that a fix is not necessary.

See, this is why we can't have nice init systems.

Source: http://www.securityweek.com/linux-systemd-gives-root-privileges-invalid-usernames


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Monday July 03 2017, @11:57PM (12 children)

    by fido_dogstoyevsky (131) <axehandleNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Monday July 03 2017, @11:57PM (#534615)

    "default value, root" pretty much explains everything that is defective in the brains of those behind systemd

    It only explains half that is defective. My son keeps telling me "don't ascribe to malice anything easily explained as incompetence" and "default value, root" is incompetence. As opposed to "make it big, all devouring and a moving target so that it's almost impossible to just replace", which is malice.

    I'm glad to see Devuan succeeding since Debian (Potato) was one of the first distros I tried.

    --
    It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by vux984 on Tuesday July 04 2017, @12:56AM (4 children)

    by vux984 (5045) on Tuesday July 04 2017, @12:56AM (#534624)

    "don't ascribe to malice anything easily explained as incompetence" and "default value, root" is incompetence.

    default value, root is incompetence.
    marking it 'not-a-bug WONTFIX' after the issue is raised however... that rises beyond incompetence.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 04 2017, @07:09AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 04 2017, @07:09AM (#534705)

      Whenever I've taken the time to report a problem with any open-source project, it gets ignored and then closed without any action taken. So this "wont-fix" is just the default, not necessarily anything to do with this specific bug.

    • (Score: 2) by turgid on Tuesday July 04 2017, @10:12AM (2 children)

      by turgid (4318) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 04 2017, @10:12AM (#534749) Journal

      Perhaps systemd is written by the people from the B Ark. I wonder if they've decided what colour it should be yet?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 04 2017, @07:06PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 04 2017, @07:06PM (#534893)

        The poor sanitary practices are reminiscent of those who stayed behind.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 05 2017, @01:43PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 05 2017, @01:43PM (#535167)

          Are you suggesting a lush poopoo brown?

  • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Tuesday July 04 2017, @02:55AM

    by kaszz (4211) on Tuesday July 04 2017, @02:55AM (#534656) Journal

    Worse than incompetence which usually can be cured with education. This is as another one put it cognitive inability and which explains why experience hasn't cured this. This instance of carbon based life form is defect and needs urgent removal from influencing important operations.

  • (Score: 2, Funny) by khallow on Tuesday July 04 2017, @03:44AM (5 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 04 2017, @03:44AM (#534674) Journal
    Don't ascribe to incompetence that which can be explained by self-interest.
    • (Score: 2) by mcgrew on Tuesday July 04 2017, @05:31PM (4 children)

      by mcgrew (701) <publish@mcgrewbooks.com> on Tuesday July 04 2017, @05:31PM (#534848) Homepage Journal

      Original source of that quote: me. Glad to see it being used!

      --
      mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
      • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday July 05 2017, @04:36AM (3 children)

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday July 05 2017, @04:36AM (#535055) Journal
        I heard the saying from Baldrson [slashdot.org] (of Slashdot fame) around 2001-2003 when I roomed with him. We were trying out some cell automata-based prisoners' dilemma games at the time (bottom line: the more mobile the automata, the more advantage that defection has over cooperation). I gather it's likely an independent coining of the term.
        • (Score: 2) by mcgrew on Wednesday July 05 2017, @02:48PM (2 children)

          by mcgrew (701) <publish@mcgrewbooks.com> on Wednesday July 05 2017, @02:48PM (#535206) Homepage Journal

          That was shortly after I said it, and yes, it was on slashdot. I call it "mcgrew's razor" although I should probably misspell "mcgrew", because Hanlon's Razor is allegedly from a Robert Heinlein story.

          --
          mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
          • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday July 07 2017, @03:40AM (1 child)

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday July 07 2017, @03:40AM (#535993) Journal
            Then he may well have heard it from you. My take is that he has been obsessed with these ideas since the late 70s or early 80s, and has read a fair bit of Heinlein in his youth. So I can't rule out an independent coining of the term.