dbcve.org
FedoraOperating system · Fedoraproject

CVE-2023-41915

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.2.6 or later.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
OpenPMIx PMIx before 4.2.6 and 5.0.x before 5.0.1 allows attackers to obtain ownership of arbitrary files via a race condition during execution of library code with UID 0.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

OpenPMIx (Process Management Interface for Exascale) contains a race condition vulnerability in library code executing with UID 0 (root). Attackers can exploit a Time-of-Check-Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) race to obtain ownership of arbitrary files on the system by manipulating file operations during the vulnerable code path.

MitigationUpgrade OpenPMIx to version 4.2.6 or later, or 5.0.1 or later. Additionally, ensure least-privilege execution by running PMIx with non-root UID where possible, and implement file permission controls to limit the impact of any race condition exploitation.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 37= 38= 39
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 10.0= 12.0
OpenpmixApplication
Affected:< 4.2.6= 5.0.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if OpenPMIx is installed
    On Fedora: rpm -qa | grep -i openpmix. On Debian: dpkg -l | grep -i openpmix. Or search for libpmix.so file: find /usr -name 'libpmix*' 2>/dev/null
    Affected if No OpenPMIx package or library found means not affected
  2. Determine installed OpenPMIx version
    On Fedora: rpm -q openpmix. On Debian: dpkg -s openpmix. Or use: ldd --version 2>/dev/null | head -1 combined with checking /usr/lib/libpmix.so version via: ls -la /usr/lib/libpmix*
    Affected if Version is less than 4.2.6, or equals 5.0.0, or matches Fedora 37/38/39 or Debian 10.0/12.0 packages means potentially affected
  3. Check if PMIx runs with root privileges
    Inspect the execution context of applications using PMIx: ps aux | grep -E '(mpirun|orterun|prun)' or check the UID of running PMIx daemon processes: ps -eo uid,comm | grep -i pmix
    Affected if OpenPMIx library code executes with UID 0 (root) is required for the race condition to be exploitable; if running as non-root user, impact is limited
  4. Identify PMIx client applications and their file operations
    Review application logs or use strace onPMIx-enabled applications to monitor file operations during initialization: strace -e open,openat,chown,fchown -f -p <pid> 2>&1 | head -50
    Affected if Applications using PMIx perform file operations while running as root indicates the TOCTOU race window may exist

System is affected if OpenPMIx version is below 4.2.6, equals 5.0.0, or matches the listed Fedora/Debian versions, AND the code executes with root (UID 0) privileges.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.2.6 or later
Fixed in 4.2.6
Interim mitigation

Upgrade OpenPMIx to version 4.2.6 or later, or 5.0.1 or later. Additionally, ensure least-privilege execution by running PMIx with non-root UID where possible, and implement file permission controls to limit the impact of any race condition exploitation.

Recommended fix High confidence

OpenPMIx 4.2.6 or later for 4.x branch; OpenPMIx 5.0.1 or later for 5.x branch

  1. Identify the currently installed OpenPMIx version using package manager or 'pmix_info'
  2. For systems running OpenPMIx 4.x versions before 4.2.6: upgrade to version 4.2.6 or later
  3. For systems running OpenPMIx 5.0.0: upgrade to version 5.0.1 or later
  4. On Fedora: run 'sudo dnf update openpmix' or 'sudo dnf upgrade openpmix'
  5. On Debian: run 'sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install libpmix-dev' or similar package name
  6. Verify the upgraded version matches or exceeds the fixed release (4.2.6 or 5.0.1)
Caveat Review OpenPMIx release notes for any API/ABI changes between versions as minor version upgrades may introduce behavior changes

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Fedora Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,800
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,080.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-41915 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data