Improper Input ValidationWeakness · CWE-20

CVE-2024-2746

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Incomplete fix for CVE-2024-1929 The problem with CVE-2024-1929 was that the dnf5 D-Bus daemon accepted arbitrary configuration parameters from unprivileged users, which allowed a local root exploit by tricking the daemon into loading a user controlled "plugin". All of this happened before Polkit authentication was even started. The dnf5 library code does not check whether non-root users control the directory in question.  On one hand, this poses a Denial-of-Service attack vector by making the daemonoperate on a blocking file (e.g. named FIFO special file) or a very large file that causes an out-of-memory situation (e.g. /dev/zero). On the other hand, this can be used to let the daemon process privileged files like /etc/shadow. The file in question is parsed as an INI file. Error diagnostics resulting from parsing privileged files could cause information leaks, if these diagnostics are accessible to unprivileged users. In the case of libdnf5, no such user accessible diagnostics should exist, though. Also, a local attacker can place a valid repository configuration file in this directory. This configuration file allows to specify a plethora of additional configuration options. This makes various additional code paths in libdnf5 accessible to the attacker.

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 · high confidence

CVE-2024-2746 is an incomplete fix for CVE-2024-1929 in dnf5's D-Bus daemon and libdnf5 library. The vulnerability allows unprivileged users to control configuration directories that the daemon processes, enabling loading of user-controlled 'plugins', DoS via blocking files (FIFOs) or large files causing OOM, and privileged file access (e.g., /etc/shadow). Attackers can also place malicious repository configuration files to trigger additional vulnerable code paths, all before Polkit authentication occurs.

MitigationRestrict dnf5 daemon and libdnf5 to only process configuration from directories not controlled by unprivileged users; implement proper ownership/permission validation before loading any configuration files or plugins.

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

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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. Identify installed dnf5 version
    Run `rpm -qa | grep -i dnf5` or `dnf5 --version` to list installed dnf5 packages and their versions
    Affected if The installed version is within the affected range for CVE-2024-2746 (note: this is an incomplete fix for CVE-2024-1929, so versions that fixed CVE-2024-1929 may still be vulnerable)
  2. Check if dnf5 D-Bus daemon is running
    Run `systemctl status dnf5daemon-service` or check for running dnf5daemon processes with `ps aux | grep dnf5`
    Affected if The dnf5daemon-service is active/running - this is the primary attack surface for the vulnerability
  3. Identify dnf5 configuration directories
    Check /etc/dnf/, ~/.config/dnf/, and any directories listed in `dnf5 --config=/etc/dnf/dnf.conf config-manager --dump` for repository and plugin configurations
    Affected if Configuration directories are found that may be processed by the daemon
  4. Verify ownership and permissions on configuration directories
    Run `ls -la /etc/dnf/` and check user-writable permissions; also check repository config directories in /etc/yum.repos.d/
    Affected if Any configuration directory processed by dnf5daemon is owned by or writable to unprivileged users, allowing them to control what files the daemon loads
  5. Check for FIFOs or unusual files in config directories
    Inspect /etc/dnf/ and /etc/yum.repos.d/ for any FIFOs (named pipes) or unusually large files that could cause DoS
    Affected if FIFOs or large files exist in directories that dnf5daemon processes before authentication
  6. Verify Polkit authentication configuration
    Check Polkit rules in /usr/share/polkit-1/ and /etc/polkit-1/ for dnf5 actions; verify if dnf5daemon permits operations before authentication completes
    Affected if Polkit is not properly enforced for dnf5daemon operations, allowing the vulnerability to be exploited pre-authentication

A user is affected if dnf5 is installed with the dnf5daemon-service running and configuration directories exist that unprivileged users can control or modify before Polkit authentication occurs.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Restrict dnf5 daemon and libdnf5 to only process configuration from directories not controlled by unprivileged users; implement proper ownership/permission validation before loading any configuration files or plugins.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,880
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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-2024-2746 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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