A flaw was found in the libreswan client plugin for NetworkManager (NetkworkManager-libreswan), where it fails to properly sanitize the VPN configuration from the local unprivileged user. In this configuration, composed by a key-value format, the plugin fails to escape special characters, leading the application to interpret values as keys. One of the most critical parameters that could be abused by a malicious user is the `leftupdown`key. This key takes an executable command as a value and is used to specify what executes as a callback in NetworkManager-libreswan to retrieve configuration settings back to NetworkManager. As NetworkManager uses Polkit to allow an unprivileged user to control the system's network configuration, a malicious actor could achieve local privilege escalation and potential code execution as root in the targeted machine by creating a malicious configuration.
| Product | Vendor Advisory | Solution File | Added | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alma_linux | — | Upgrade NetworkManager-libreswanUpgrade NetworkManager-libreswan-gnome | Oct 25, 2024 | Oct 22, 2024 |
| Amazon Linux Ami 2 | — | Upgrade NetworkManager-libreswan-debuginfoUpgrade NetworkManager-libreswan-gnomeUpgrade NetworkManager-libreswan | Dec 20, 2024 | Oct 22, 2024 |
| Oracle_linux | — | Upgrade NetworkManager-libreswan-gnomeUpgrade NetworkManager-libreswan | Nov 11, 2024 | Oct 22, 2024 |
| Redhat_linux | — | Upgrade NetworkManager-libreswan-gnome-debuginfoUpgrade NetworkManager-libreswan-gnomeUpgrade NetworkManager-libreswan-debugsourceUpgrade NetworkManager-libreswanUpgrade NetworkManager-libreswan-debuginfo | Oct 24, 2024 | Oct 22, 2024 |
| Rocky_linux | — | Upgrade NetworkManager-libreswanUpgrade NetworkManager-libreswan-debugsourceUpgrade NetworkManager-libreswan-gnome-debuginfoUpgrade NetworkManager-libreswan-debuginfoUpgrade NetworkManager-libreswan-gnome | Mar 18, 2025 | Oct 22, 2024 |
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