CVE-2020-14382 – This vulnerability in cryptsetup's LUKS2 valida... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2020-14382?

CVE-2020-14382 has a CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH). This vulnerability in cryptsetup's LUKS2 validation code allows an attacker to craft a malicious LUKS2 container that triggers a heap-based buffer overflow when processed. This could lead to arbitrary code execution or denial of service. Systems using cryptsetup 2.2.0 to handle LUKS2 encrypted devices are affected.

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability in cryptsetup's LUKS2 validation code allows an attacker to craft a malicious LUKS2 container that triggers a heap-based buffer overflow when processed. This could lead to arbitrary code execution or denial of service. Systems using cryptsetup 2.2.0 to handle LUKS2 encrypted devices are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

cryptsetup

Versions: Version 2.2.0 specifically

Operating Systems: Linux distributions using cryptsetup 2.2.0

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Only affects systems using LUKS2 encryption format. LUKS1 is not vulnerable.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Remote code execution with root privileges if cryptsetup processes attacker-controlled LUKS2 containers, potentially leading to full system compromise.

🟠

Likely Case

Denial of service through application crash or memory corruption when processing malicious LUKS2 containers.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact if systems only process trusted LUKS2 containers and have proper access controls.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - cryptsetup typically processes local storage devices, not network-exposed services.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Local attackers or malicious LUKS2 containers could exploit this vulnerability on affected systems.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires attacker to supply a malicious LUKS2 container that gets processed by cryptsetup.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: cryptsetup 2.3.0 and later

Vendor Advisory: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1874712

Restart Required: No

Instructions:

1. Update cryptsetup package using your distribution's package manager. 2. For Red Hat/Fedora: 'sudo dnf update cryptsetup'. 3. For Ubuntu/Debian: 'sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade cryptsetup'. 4. Verify the update installed version 2.3.0 or later.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Avoid processing untrusted LUKS2 containers

linux

Only open LUKS2 containers from trusted sources

Use LUKS1 format instead

linux

Convert existing LUKS2 containers to LUKS1 format

cryptsetup convert --type luks1 /dev/device_name

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Restrict access to cryptsetup binary to trusted users only
Implement strict controls on which LUKS2 containers can be processed

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check cryptsetup version: 'cryptsetup --version' and verify if it's 2.2.0

Check Version:

cryptsetup --version | head -1

Verify Fix Applied:

After update, run 'cryptsetup --version' and confirm version is 2.3.0 or higher

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

cryptsetup crashes or segmentation faults in system logs
Unexpected memory allocation failures

Network Indicators:

Not applicable - local vulnerability

SIEM Query:

process.name="cryptsetup" AND (event.action="segmentation fault" OR event.action="crash")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2020-14382

CVSS v3 Score: 7.8 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-787

Published: September 16, 2020

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1874712 Issue Tracking,Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/OJTQ4KSVCW2NMSU5WFVPOHY46WMNF4OB/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/TD6YSD63LLRRC4WQ7DJLSXWNUCY6FWBM/
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4493-1/ Third Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1874712 Issue Tracking,Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/OJTQ4KSVCW2NMSU5WFVPOHY46WMNF4OB/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/TD6YSD63LLRRC4WQ7DJLSXWNUCY6FWBM/
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4493-1/ Third Party Advisory

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