CVE-2024-1724

In snapd versions prior to 2.62, when using AppArmor for enforcement of sandbox permissions, snapd failed to restrict writes to the $HOME/bin path. In Ubuntu, when this path exists, it is automatically added to the users PATH. An attacker who could convince a user to install a malicious snap which used the home plug could use this vulnerability to install arbitrary scripts into the users PATH which may then be run by the user outside of the expected snap sandbox and hence allow them to escape confinement.

Weakness

The product specifies permissions for a security-critical resource in a way that allows that resource to be read or modified by unintended actors.

Affected Software

Potential Mitigations

• Run the code in a “jail” or similar sandbox environment that enforces strict boundaries between the process and the operating system. This may effectively restrict which files can be accessed in a particular directory or which commands can be executed by the software.
• OS-level examples include the Unix chroot jail, AppArmor, and SELinux. In general, managed code may provide some protection. For example, java.io.FilePermission in the Java SecurityManager allows the software to specify restrictions on file operations.
• This may not be a feasible solution, and it only limits the impact to the operating system; the rest of the application may still be subject to compromise.
• Be careful to avoid CWE-243 and other weaknesses related to jails.

Related Attack Patterns

• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/1.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/122.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/127.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/17.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/180.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/206.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/234.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/60.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/61.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/62.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/642.html

References

• https://github.com/snapcore/snapd/commit/aa191f97713de8dc3ce3ac818539f0b976eb8ef6
• https://github.com/snapcore/snapd/pull/13689
• https://gld.mcphail.uk/posts/explaining-cve-2024-1724/