CVE-2020-15707

Integer overflows were discovered in the functions grub_cmd_initrd and grub_initrd_init in the efilinux component of GRUB2, as shipped in Debian, Red Hat, and Ubuntu (the functionality is not included in GRUB2 upstream), leading to a heap-based buffer overflow. These could be triggered by an extremely large number of arguments to the initrd command on 32-bit architectures, or a crafted filesystem with very large files on any architecture. An attacker could use this to execute arbitrary code and bypass UEFI Secure Boot restrictions. This issue affects GRUB2 version 2.04 and prior versions.

Weakness

The product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently.

Affected Software

Extended Description

A race condition occurs within concurrent environments, and it is effectively a property of a code sequence. Depending on the context, a code sequence may be in the form of a function call, a small number of instructions, a series of program invocations, etc. A race condition violates these properties, which are closely related:

A race condition exists when an “interfering code sequence” can still access the shared resource, violating exclusivity. The interfering code sequence could be “trusted” or “untrusted.” A trusted interfering code sequence occurs within the product; it cannot be modified by the attacker, and it can only be invoked indirectly. An untrusted interfering code sequence can be authored directly by the attacker, and typically it is external to the vulnerable product.

Potential Mitigations

• Minimize the usage of shared resources in order to remove as much complexity as possible from the control flow and to reduce the likelihood of unexpected conditions occurring.
• Additionally, this will minimize the amount of synchronization necessary and may even help to reduce the likelihood of a denial of service where an attacker may be able to repeatedly trigger a critical section (CWE-400).

Related Attack Patterns

• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/26.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/29.html

References

• http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00016.html
• http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00017.html
• http://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4432-1
• http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/07/29/3
• https://access.redhat.com/security/vulnerabilities/grub2bootloader
• https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2020-07/msg00034.html
• https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/ADV200011
• https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202104-05
• https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200731-0008/
• https://usn.ubuntu.com/4432-1/
• https://wiki.ubuntu.com/SecurityTeam/KnowledgeBase/GRUB2SecureBootBypass
• https://www.debian.org/security/2020-GRUB-UEFI-SecureBoot
• https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4735
• https://www.eclypsium.com/2020/07/29/theres-a-hole-in-the-boot/
• https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/07/29/3
• https://www.suse.com/c/suse-addresses-grub2-secure-boot-issue/
• https://www.suse.com/support/kb/doc/?id=000019673
• http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00016.html
• http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00017.html
• http://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4432-1
• http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/07/29/3
• https://access.redhat.com/security/vulnerabilities/grub2bootloader
• https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2020-07/msg00034.html
• https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/ADV200011
• https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202104-05
• https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200731-0008/
• https://usn.ubuntu.com/4432-1/
• https://wiki.ubuntu.com/SecurityTeam/KnowledgeBase/GRUB2SecureBootBypass
• https://www.debian.org/security/2020-GRUB-UEFI-SecureBoot
• https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4735
• https://www.eclypsium.com/2020/07/29/theres-a-hole-in-the-boot/
• https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/07/29/3
• https://www.suse.com/c/suse-addresses-grub2-secure-boot-issue/
• https://www.suse.com/support/kb/doc/?id=000019673