Snowflake JDBC Driver Privilege Escalation Vulnerability on Windows

A vulnerability in the Snowflake JDBC Driver has been identified, allowing for local privilege escalation on Windows systems. This issue arises when the EXTERNALBROWSER authentication method is used. An attacker with write access to a directory in the %PATH% can place a malicious executable that, when executed, escalates privileges to the user running the JDBC Driver. The vulnerability affects Snowflake JDBC Driver versions 3.2.3 through 3.21.0.

Impact

Exploitation of this vulnerability allows for local privilege escalation to the user running the Snowflake JDBC Driver.

Reproduction

To reproduce this vulnerability, use a version of the Snowflake JDBC Driver between 3.2.3 and 3.21.0 on a Windows system. Select the EXTERNALBROWSER authentication method. An attacker can then place a malicious executable in a directory listed in the %PATH%, which will be executed by the JDBC Driver, leading to privilege escalation.

Remediation

Upgrade to Snowflake JDBC Driver version 3.22.0, which addresses this vulnerability.