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vendor:
Sudo
by:
Joe Vennix
7.8
CVSS
HIGH
Buffer Overflow
119
CWE
Product Name: Sudo
Affected Version From: Sudo versions prior to 1.8.26
Affected Version To: Sudo versions prior to 1.8.26
Patch Exists: YES
Related CWE: CVE-2019-18634
CPE: a:sudo:sudo
Other Scripts: N/A
Platforms Tested: Linux, Mac, Windows
2020

Sudo 1.8.25p – Buffer Overflow

Sudo's pwfeedback option can be used to provide visual feedback when the user is inputting their password. For each key press, an asterisk is printed. This option was added in response to user confusion over how the standard Password: prompt disables the echoing of key presses. While pwfeedback is not enabled by default in the upstream version of sudo, some systems, such as Linux Mint and Elementary OS, do enable it in their default sudoers files. Due to a bug, when the pwfeedback option is enabled in the sudoers file, a user may be able to trigger a stack-based buffer overflow. This bug can be triggered even by users not listed in the sudoers file. Exploiting the bug does not require sudo permissions, merely that pwfeedback be enabled. The bug can be reproduced by passing a large input to sudo via a pipe when it prompts for a password. If pwfeedback is enabled in sudoers, the stack overflow may allow unprivileged users to escalate to the root account.

Mitigation:

Disable the pwfeedback option in the sudoers file.
Source

Exploit-DB raw data:

# Title: Sudo 1.8.25p - Buffer Overflow
# Date: 2020-01-30
# Author: Joe Vennix
# Software: Sudo
# Versions: Sudo versions prior to 1.8.26
# CVE: CVE-2019-18634
# Reference: https://www.sudo.ws/alerts/pwfeedback.html

# Sudo's pwfeedback option can be used to provide visual feedback when the user is inputting 
# their password. For each key press, an asterisk is printed. This option was added in 
# response to user confusion over how the standard Password: prompt disables the echoing 
# of key presses. While pwfeedback is not enabled by default in the upstream version of sudo,
# some systems, such as Linux Mint and Elementary OS, do enable it in their default sudoers files.

# Due to a bug, when the pwfeedback option is enabled in the sudoers file, a user may be able to trigger a stack-based buffer overflow.
# This bug can be triggered even by users not listed in the sudoers file. There is no impact unless pwfeedback has been enabled.

The folowing sudoers configuration is vulnerable:

    $ sudo -l
    Matching Defaults entries for millert on linux-build:
	insults, pwfeedback, mail_badpass, mailerpath=/usr/sbin/sendmail

    User millert may run the following commands on linux-build:
	(ALL : ALL) ALL

# Exploiting the bug does not require sudo permissions, merely that pwfeedback be enabled. 
# The bug can be reproduced by passing a large input to sudo via a pipe when it prompts for a password.

    $ perl -e 'print(("A" x 100 . "\x{00}") x 50)' | sudo -S id
    Password: Segmentation fault

If pwfeedback is enabled in sudoers, the stack overflow may allow unprivileged users to escalate to the root account.