CVE-2024-52336 – This CVE describes a local privilege escalation... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2024-52336?

CVE-2024-52336 has a CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH). This CVE describes a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Tuned package. A local non-privileged user can exploit the unauthenticated D-Bus instance_create() function to inject and execute arbitrary scripts with root privileges. This affects systems running vulnerable versions of Tuned with local user access.

📋 TL;DR

This CVE describes a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Tuned package. A local non-privileged user can exploit the unauthenticated D-Bus instance_create() function to inject and execute arbitrary scripts with root privileges. This affects systems running vulnerable versions of Tuned with local user access.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Tuned

Versions: Specific versions not detailed in references; check Red Hat advisories for exact ranges

Operating Systems: Red Hat Enterprise Linux and derivatives

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Requires Tuned service running and D-Bus accessible to local users.

⚠️ Manual Verification Required

This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.

Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).

🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.

Recommended Actions:

Review the CVE details at NVD
Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Local attacker gains full root privileges on the system, enabling complete system compromise, data theft, persistence establishment, and lateral movement.

🟠

Likely Case

Local user escalates privileges to root, gaining administrative control over the affected system.

🟢

If Mitigated

Attack fails due to patched system, restricted D-Bus access, or lack of local user accounts.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - This is a local privilege escalation requiring local user access.

🏢 Internal Only: HIGH - Any system with local users running vulnerable Tuned versions is at risk of privilege escalation.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: LOW

Exploitation requires local user access but no authentication to D-Bus function. Script injection is straightforward once access is obtained.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Check specific Red Hat advisories (RHSA-2024:10384, RHSA-2025:0879, RHSA-2025:0880)

Vendor Advisory: https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-52336

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Tuned package using system package manager. 2. Restart Tuned service or reboot system. 3. Verify patch installation with version check.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Restrict D-Bus Access

linux

Configure D-Bus policy to restrict access to Tuned's instance_create() function to privileged users only.

Edit /etc/dbus-1/system.d/tuned.conf to add appropriate policy restrictions

Disable Tuned Service

linux

Stop and disable Tuned service if not required for system performance tuning.

systemctl stop tuned
systemctl disable tuned

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement strict access controls to limit local user accounts on affected systems.
Monitor for suspicious D-Bus calls to Tuned service and script execution with root privileges.

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Tuned package version against patched versions in Red Hat advisories. Verify D-Bus policy allows unauthenticated calls to instance_create().

Check Version:

rpm -q tuned

Verify Fix Applied:

Confirm Tuned package is updated to patched version and test that unauthenticated D-Bus calls to instance_create() with script options are rejected.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

D-Bus authorization failures or successes for Tuned service
Unexpected script execution with root privileges from Tuned context

Network Indicators:

Local D-Bus communication patterns to Tuned service

SIEM Query:

Process execution where parent_process contains 'tuned' and user='root' for unexpected scripts

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2024-52336

CVSS v3 Score: 7.8 (HIGH)

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

CWE: CWE-269

Published: November 26, 2024

Last Updated: February 3, 2025

🔗 References

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