Untrusted LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable vulnerability in the GNU C Library version 2.27 to 2.38 allows attacker controlled loading of dynamically shared library in statically compiled setuid binaries that call dlopen (including internal dlopen calls after setlocale or calls to NSS functions such as getaddrinfo).
Weakness
The product searches for critical resources using an externally-supplied search path that can point to resources that are not under the product’s direct control.
Affected Software
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glibc | Gnu | 2.27 (including) | 2.38 (including) |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.7 Advanced Update Support | RedHat | glibc-0:2.17-292.el7_7.3 | * |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Extended Lifecycle Support | RedHat | glibc-0:2.17-326.el7_9.5 | * |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | RedHat | glibc-0:2.28-251.el8_10.22 | * |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | RedHat | glibc-0:2.28-251.el8_10.22 | * |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | RedHat | glibc-0:2.34-168.el9_6.19 | * |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | RedHat | glibc-0:2.34-168.el9_6.19 | * |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 Extended Update Support | RedHat | glibc-0:2.34-100.el9_4.12 | * |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.16 | RedHat | rhcos-416.94.202506251808-0 | * |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.17 | RedHat | rhcos-417.94.202507021305-0 | * |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.18 | RedHat | rhcos-418.94.202506251005-0 | * |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.19 | RedHat | rhcos-4.19.9.6.202506252250-0 | * |
| Red Hat Discovery 1.14 | RedHat | discovery/discovery-server-rhel9:sha256:dcd0d1f2506998720ba82cbb4090151f4c7dfc209e9f938bd3a5898b28e5be34 | * |
| Red Hat Discovery 2 | RedHat | discovery/discovery-server-rhel9:sha256:bd9cb502def3153c193713b56372694cb555a71b38d4fc0fd9d021bccc5602de | * |
| Glibc | Ubuntu | esm-infra/bionic | * |
| Glibc | Ubuntu | esm-infra/focal | * |
| Glibc | Ubuntu | focal | * |
| Glibc | Ubuntu | jammy | * |
Extended Description
This might allow attackers to execute their own programs, access unauthorized data files, or modify configuration in unexpected ways. If the product uses a search path to locate critical resources such as programs, then an attacker could modify that search path to point to a malicious program, which the targeted product would then execute. The problem extends to any type of critical resource that the product trusts. Some of the most common variants of untrusted search path are:
Potential Mitigations
Related Attack Patterns
References
- https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=32976
- https://sourceware.org/cgit/glibc/commit/?id=1e18586c5820e329f741d5c710275e165581380e
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2025/05/16/7
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2025/05/17/2
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00033.html