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CVE-2024-9050

Networkmanager-libreswan: local privilege escalation via leftupdown

High7.8EPSS 0.46%
Published
Updated
Reserved
Assigned by
redhat

Description

A flaw was found in the libreswan client plugin for NetworkManager (NetkworkManager-libreswan), where it fails to properly sanitize the VPN configuration from the local unprivileged user. In this configuration, composed by a key-value format, the plugin fails to escape special characters, leading the application to interpret values as keys. One of the most critical parameters that could be abused by a malicious user is the `leftupdown`key. This key takes an executable command as a value and is used to specify what executes as a callback in NetworkManager-libreswan to retrieve configuration settings back to NetworkManager. As NetworkManager uses Polkit to allow an unprivileged user to control the system's network configuration, a malicious actor could achieve local privilege escalation and potential code execution as root in the targeted machine by creating a malicious configuration.

Timeline

  1. ID reserved

    By redhat

  2. · 32 days later

    Published

  3. · 2 years later

    Record updated

Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.

Scores

CVSS scores of CVE-2024-9050, by who scored it
Scored byCVSSScoreVector
redhatCNA (assigner)3.1High7.8CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVDNVD · Deferred3.1High7.8CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
0.46% · top 60% of all CVEs (7 Nov 2026)
CISA SSVC
Exploitation: none · Automatable: no · Technical impact: total
Loading the EPSS history…

The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 7.8.

Weakness

Affected products

What to do

Workaround: A mitigation for this issue is either unavailable or the existing options do not meet Red Hat Product Security's standards for ease of use, deployment, widespread applicability, or stability. One potential approach is to prevent local users from controlling networking through polkit. However, this would also block them from connecting to new Wi-Fi networks, which is not ideal for laptops but might be acceptable for workstations. Server customers typically don't need to be concerned, as they generally don't have local users capable of exploiting the bug.

References (16)

Sources

The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.

Badge for a README or a ticket

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Record last updated .