Medium [CVE-2024-45770] Pcp: pmpost symlink attack allows escalating pcp to root user

A vulnerability was found in Performance Co-Pilot (PCP). This flaw can only be exploited if an attacker has access to a compromised PCP system account.

The issue is related to the pmpost tool, which is used to log messages in the system. Under certain conditions, it runs with high-level privileges.

This issue is classified as Moderate rather than Important due to the specific conditions required for exploitation. Although it involves potential privilege escalation and file corruption, the vulnerability is contingent on an attacker having the ability to create symlinks within the /var/log/pcp directory.

Additionally, the exploit requires pmpost to be executed as root in a particular context, which is not typical in standard operation. These prerequisites limit the likelihood and scope of the impact, making it less severe compared to vulnerabilities that could be exploited more broadly or easily by an unprivileged user.

Red Hat severity: Moderate — CVSS 4.4 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N). Weakness: CWE-59.

Affected products named by the advisory: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Advanced Update Support; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Telecommunications Update Service; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Update Services for SAP Solutions; and 9 more.