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Code InjectionWeakness · CWE-94

CVE-2024-9050

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-10-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
A flaw was found in the libreswan client plugin for NetworkManager (NetkworkManager-libreswan), where it fails to properly sanitize the VPN configuration from the local unprivileged user. In this configuration, composed by a key-value format, the plugin fails to escape special characters, leading the application to interpret values as keys. One of the most critical parameters that could be abused by a malicious user is the `leftupdown`key. This key takes an executable command as a value and is used to specify what executes as a callback in NetworkManager-libreswan to retrieve configuration settings back to NetworkManager. As NetworkManager uses Polkit to allow an unprivileged user to control the system's network configuration, a malicious actor could achieve local privilege escalation and potential code execution as root in the targeted machine by creating a malicious configuration.

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

The libreswan plugin for NetworkManager fails to properly escape special characters in VPN configuration key-value pairs, causing values to be misinterpreted as keys. The critical `leftupdown` parameter accepts executable commands as values - since Polkit allows unprivileged users to modify network configuration, a local attacker can inject malicious commands that execute with root privileges.

MitigationRestrict VPN configuration write access to trusted users only until a patched version is available; audit existing configurations for suspicious leftupdown values.

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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. Confirm libreswan VPN plugin is installed
    Run `rpm -qa | grep -i libreswan` or `dpkg -l | grep -i libreswan` to list installed libreswan packages. Also check NetworkManager plugins with `ls /usr/lib/NetworkManager/*/dispatcher.d/` or similar path for available VPN plugins.
    Affected if NetworkManager with libreswan plugin is installed and the version is unpatched or unknown
  2. Identify the installed libreswan version
    Run `rpm -qi libreswan` or `dpkg -s libreswan` to get version details. Compare against any available security advisories or patched versions from your distribution.
    Affected if Unable to verify the installed version is patched against CVE-2024-9050
  3. Check Polkit network configuration permissions
    Run `pkaction | grep -i network` or inspect Polkit rules in /etc/polkit-1/ and /usr/share/polkit-/. Look for rules granting org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.* permissions to unprivileged users or the 'users' group.
    Affected if Unprivileged users or the 'users' group have permission to modify NetworkManager connections (org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.*) without authentication
  4. Inspect VPN configurations for leftupdown parameters
    List VPN connection profiles with `nmcli connection show` and `nmcli -p connection show <vpn-name>` for each libreswan VPN. Search for the 'leftupdown' parameter in the output or in files under /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/.
    Affected if Any libreswan VPN configuration contains a 'leftupdown' parameter pointing to an unexpected or suspicious executable path

The environment is affected if NetworkManager with the libreswan plugin is installed, unprivileged users can modify VPN configuration via Polkit, and the installed version lacks the CVE-2024-9050 patch.

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 VPN configuration write access to trusted users only until a patched version is available; audit existing configurations for suspicious leftupdown values.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $3,000
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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-2024-9050 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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