OpenShift Update Service Container Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

A privilege escalation vulnerability has been identified in certain OpenShift Update Service (OSUS) images. The issue arises because the /etc/passwd file is created with group-writable permissions during the build process. This flaw allows an attacker who can execute commands within the affected container, even as a non-root user, to exploit their membership in the root group to modify the /etc/passwd file. By doing so, the attacker could add a new user with any arbitrary UID, including UID 0, thereby gaining full root privileges within the container.

Impact

Exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized privilege escalation, allowing a user to gain root access within the affected container.