Exploiting CVE-2024-51491 requires specific conditions, leading to a moderate security impact.
Status: Received on 13 Jan 2025, 22:15 UTC
Last updated: 🕐 14 Jan 2025, 01:15 UTC
Originally published on: 🕙 13 Jan 2025, 22:15 UTC
CVSS Release: version 3
security-advisories@github.com
Secondary
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
CVE-2024-51491: notion-go is a collection of libraries for supporting sign and verify OCI artifacts. Based on Notary Project specifications. The issue was identified during Quarkslab's security audit on the Certificate Revocation List (CRL) based revocation check feature. After retrieving the CRL, notation-go attempts to update the CRL cache using the os.Rename method. However, this operation may fail due to operating system-specific limitations, particularly when the source and destination paths are on different mount points. This failure could lead to an unexpected program termination. In method `crl.(*FileCache).Set`, a temporary file is created in the OS dedicated area (like /tmp for, usually, Linux/Unix). The file is written and then it is tried to move it to the dedicated `notation` cache directory thanks `os.Rename`. As specified in Go documentation, OS specific restriction may apply. When used with Linux OS, it is relying on rename syscall from the libc and as per the documentation, moving a file to a different mountpoint raises an EXDEV error, interpreted as Cross device link not permitted error. Some Linux distribution, like RedHat use a dedicated filesystem (tmpfs), mounted on a specific mountpoint (usually /tmp) for temporary files. When using such OS, revocation check based on CRL will repeatedly crash notation. As a result the signature verification process is aborted as process crashes. This issue has been addressed in version 1.3.0-rc.2 and all users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.
The exploitability of CVE-2024-51491 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).
With low attack complexity and no required privileges, CVE-2024-51491 is an easy target for cybercriminals. Organizations should prioritize immediate mitigation measures to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches.
A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.
Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.
Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.
Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2024-51491, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.
Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2024-51491, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.
The EPSS score estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the near future.
EPSS Score: 0.045% (probability of exploit)
EPSS Percentile: 18.4%
(lower percentile = lower relative risk)
This vulnerability is less risky than approximately 81.6% of others.
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