Linux , as always, has boasted of having much greater security than Windows. And is not for less. While Microsoft‘s operating system fixes dozens of security flaws every month, Linux, although not invulnerable, hides between its lines much fewer and less serious bugs. But sooner or later these failures end up seeing the light of day. And when that happens, the systems and servers that have this operating system installed are compromised and left at the mercy of hackers until the update is released, as has happened with this new hidden bug in the Linux Kernel .
A few hours ago, a security researcher just revealed a new flaw in the Linux kernel . This flaw, when exploited, could give the attacker full control over the PC. This security flaw can be used to steal data without permission restrictions and even to install malware on the vulnerable PC or server . The only requirement, of course, is to have access to the PC , either while sitting in front of the system or through SSH or by remote control.
Popov, the security researcher who discovered this flaw, has successfully tested an exploit on a server with Fedora 33 . After verifying that, indeed, the vulnerability could be exploited, this researcher reported to the Linux Foundation and other organizations about its existence on February 5. But it has not been until now, for security reasons, when it has finally been made known.
Gain privileges within Linux and gain full control
These types of vulnerabilities are very common within Linux systems. As the name suggests, what is achieved with them is to give any user with a standard or limited level of permissions, root permissions . Thanks to this, the attacker can have full access to all the files on the hard drive. And even files configured so that only a specific user can access.
Also, by having superuser permissions, you can modify the system at will. This attacker can change the default system settings, alter security measures and even install malicious software, malware, on the victim’s computer or server.
This security flaw has been registered as CVE-2021-26708 , and has received a dangerous score of 7 out of 10. Furthermore, it is believed that, through other vulnerabilities, this flaw could be used to execute remote code, which triggers its dangerousness.
Protect PCs and servers
The only way to protect ourselves is to update computers with Linux. This security researcher, together with the warning of the vulnerability, sent a patch prepared to solve the kernel failure. Therefore, if our distro uses a supported version of the Kernel, we can install the kernel patch by searching and downloading new updates in our distro. Otherwise, we should update the kernel by hand ourselves.
All versions of the Linux kernel up to 5.10.13 (excluded) are vulnerable.
In addition to installing the latest security patches in the kernel , it is also advisable to always protect our computer. If no one can have physical access to it, and we prevent them from connecting remotely using strong passwords, they will not be able to exploit these types of vulnerabilities. Thus, our data will always be protected.