Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Qualys Discloses 'CrackArmor' Flaws in Linux AppArmor Exposing Root and Container Escapes

Qualys urges immediate kernel patching, with exploit code withheld to give administrators time to update.

Overview

  • Nine confused-deputy vulnerabilities in AppArmor let unprivileged users manipulate security profiles via pseudo-files and execute code in the kernel.
  • The weaknesses date to 2017 and affect Linux kernels from 4.11 across distributions that enable AppArmor by default, including Ubuntu, Debian and SUSE.
  • Researchers say user-namespace restrictions can be bypassed to achieve local privilege escalation to root and to break container isolation.
  • Qualys also details denial-of-service via stack exhaustion and KASLR disclosure through out-of-bounds reads, increasing the risk of exploit chains.
  • No CVE identifiers have been assigned, and administrators are advised to deploy vendor kernel fixes as they become available to protect an estimated 12.6 million enterprise systems.