A vital vulnerability within the GNU C Library (glibc), doubtlessly exposing thousands and thousands of Linux programs to native privilege escalation assaults.
Tracked as CVE-2025-4802 and publicly disclosed on Could 16, 2025, this vulnerability may enable attackers to execute arbitrary code by manipulating the LD_LIBRARY_PATH setting variable.
Programs working Rocky Linux, Debian, Ubuntu, and different main Linux distributions with glibc variations 2.27-2.38 are doubtlessly affected.
Vital glibc Vulnerability
The flaw impacts statically linked setuid binaries that decision the dlopen() perform, both immediately or not directly by widespread features like setlocale() or Community Safety Providers (NSS) features similar to getaddrinfo().
Usually, setuid binaries ignore environmental variables like LD_LIBRARY_PATH for safety causes, however this vulnerability circumvents that safety.
“A statically linked setuid binary that calls dlopen might incorrectly search LD_LIBRARY_PATH to find out which library to load, resulting in the execution of library code that’s attacker managed,” states the official glibc safety advisory.
The vulnerability was launched in 2017 by commit 10e93d968716ab82931d593bada121c17c0a4b93 and was mounted in January 2023 by commit 5451fa962cd0a90a0e2ec1d8910a559ace02bba0, which was included into glibc 2.39.
Proof of Idea
Safety researcher Photo voltaic Designer has developed and publicly shared a check case demonstrating the vulnerability:
When compiled right into a shared library and positioned in a listing specified by LD_LIBRARY_PATH, this code may be loaded by weak applications, doubtlessly permitting arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges.
Whereas the safety advisory notes that “no such program has been found on the time of publishing,” the vulnerability stays regarding as a result of {custom} setuid applications, though discouraged as a safety apply, are widespread in enterprise environments.
This makes the bug a low-probability however high-impact vulnerability, particularly in environments with legacy or custom-built static binaries.
Danger FactorsDetailsAffected Productsglibc 2.27 (2018) to 2.38 (2023)ImpactArbitrary Code ExceutionExploit Prerequisites1. Native entry 2. Presence of static setuid binary utilizing dlopen() 3. Write entry to LD_LIBRARY_PATH directoriesCVSS 3.1 Score9.8 (Vital)
Mitigation Methods
System directors ought to prioritize the next actions:
Replace glibc to model 2.39 or later, which comprises the repair for this vulnerability.
Apply out there safety patches out of your Linux distribution vendor.
Audit programs for statically linked setuid binaries, notably {custom} purposes.
Think about implementing extra entry controls utilizing SELinux or AppArmor.
Assessment and decrease using setuid binaries throughout programs.
Organizations utilizing older Linux distributions ought to test with their distributors for backported patches addressing this vulnerability, as the difficulty impacts programs relationship again to 2017 when glibc 2.27 was launched.
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