OpenBSD has a use-after-free allowing local privilege escalation to root (nvd.nist.gov)

Article summary

A use-after-free vulnerability in OpenBSD's sys/kern/sysv_sem.c allows local privilege escalation to root. The vulnerability is a context switch use-after-free after tsleep in sys_semget(). This issue was discovered as part of the Patch The Planet initiative, which uses AI models to find vulnerabilities in open-source projects. The vulnerability affects OpenBSD versions up to 7.9.

Main themes

• OpenBSD vulnerability
• Local privilege escalation
• Patch The Planet initiative
• AI-powered vulnerability discovery
• Operating system security

What commenters say

• The discovery of this vulnerability highlights the effectiveness of AI-powered tools in finding security issues in open-source projects.
• The use of dnsmasq, a software with a history of security holes, should be reconsidered in favor of alternative solutions like Unbound.
• The quality of code being written is more important than the quantity of code in determining the number of bugs and vulnerabilities.
• The size and complexity of the Linux kernel make it more prone to bugs and vulnerabilities compared to smaller operating systems like OpenBSD.
• The use of security features like pledge and unveil in OpenBSD provides strong protection against vulnerabilities, but may not be foolproof.
• The comparison of different operating systems' security records is complicated by factors like code size, development activity, and testing methodologies.
• Alternative solutions like NSD and Unbound can provide similar functionality to dnsmasq while minimizing security risks.
• The trade-off between code simplicity and performance optimization can have significant implications for security and vulnerability risk.