CVE-2020-8022 : Vulnerability Insights and Analysis

A vulnerability in the packaging of tomcat on various SUSE products allows local attackers to escalate privileges from group tomcat to root.

Understanding CVE-2020-8022

This CVE involves an Incorrect Default Permissions vulnerability affecting multiple SUSE products.

What is CVE-2020-8022?

CVE-2020-8022 is a security vulnerability that enables local attackers to elevate their privileges from the tomcat group to root on affected systems.

The Impact of CVE-2020-8022

The vulnerability has a CVSS base score of 7.7, indicating a high severity level with significant impacts on confidentiality and integrity.

Technical Details of CVE-2020-8022

This section provides more detailed technical information about the vulnerability.

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability arises from incorrect default permissions in the tomcat packaging on various SUSE products, allowing unauthorized privilege escalation.

Affected Systems and Versions

SUSE Enterprise Storage 5: tomcat versions prior to 8.0.53-29.32.1
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12-SP2-BCL: tomcat versions prior to 8.0.53-29.32.1
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12-SP2-LTSS: tomcat versions prior to 8.0.53-29.32.1
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12-SP3-BCL: tomcat versions prior to 8.0.53-29.32.1
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12-SP3-LTSS: tomcat versions prior to 8.0.53-29.32.1
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12-SP4: tomcat versions prior to 9.0.35-3.39.1
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12-SP5: tomcat versions prior to 9.0.35-3.39.1
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15-LTSS: tomcat versions prior to 9.0.35-3.57.3
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP 12-SP2: tomcat versions prior to 8.0.53-29.32.1
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP 12-SP3: tomcat versions prior to 8.0.53-29.32.1
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP 15: tomcat versions prior to 9.0.35-3.57.3
SUSE OpenStack Cloud 7: tomcat versions prior to 8.0.53-29.32.1
SUSE OpenStack Cloud 8: tomcat versions prior to 8.0.53-29.32.1
SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 8: tomcat versions prior to 8.0.53-29.32.1

Exploitation Mechanism

The vulnerability allows local attackers to manipulate user-writeable configuration files to escalate privileges from the tomcat group to root.

Mitigation and Prevention

Protecting systems from CVE-2020-8022 requires immediate actions and long-term security practices.

Immediate Steps to Take

Apply patches provided by SUSE to address the vulnerability.
Monitor for any unauthorized changes to configuration files.

Long-Term Security Practices

Implement the principle of least privilege to restrict user permissions.
Regularly update and patch systems to prevent known vulnerabilities.

Patching and Updates

Ensure that all affected systems are updated with the latest patches from SUSE to mitigate the CVE-2020-8022 vulnerability.