CVE-2024-48990

Description

Qualys discovered that needrestart, before version 3.8, allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code as root by tricking needrestart into running the Python interpreter with an attacker-controlled PYTHONPATH environment variable.

Remediation

Workaround:

  • Edit /etc/needrestart/needrestart.conf so that the following line appears after "# Disable interpreter scanners." and reboot: $nrconf{interpscan} = 0;

Category

7.8
CVSS
Severity: High
CVSS 3.1 •
EPSS 14.59% Top 10%
Third-Party Advisory qualys.com
Affected: needrestart needrestart
Published at:
Updated at:

References

Link Tags
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-48990 vdb entry issue tracking
https://github.com/liske/needrestart/commit/fcc9a4401392231bef4ef5ed026a0d7a275149ab patch
https://www.qualys.com/2024/11/19/needrestart/needrestart.txt third party advisory
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/11/19/1 mailing list

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the severity of CVE-2024-48990?
CVE-2024-48990 has been scored as a high severity vulnerability.
How to fix CVE-2024-48990?
As a workaround for remediating CVE-2024-48990: Edit /etc/needrestart/needrestart.conf so that the following line appears after "# Disable interpreter scanners." and reboot: $nrconf{interpscan} = 0;
Is CVE-2024-48990 being actively exploited in the wild?
It is possible that CVE-2024-48990 is being exploited or will be exploited in a near future based on public information. According to its EPSS score, there is a ~15% probability that this vulnerability will be exploited by malicious actors in the next 30 days.
What software or system is affected by CVE-2024-48990?
CVE-2024-48990 affects needrestart needrestart.
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