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What is CVE-2020-15229?A critical-severity flaw in Singularity, explained.

Critical severity3 affected products
The short answer

CVE-2020-15229 is a critical-severity flaw (CVSS 9.3) in Singularity from Sylabs, published on 14 October 2020. It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts its chance of use in the next 30 days at 2.0%. If you run an affected version, plan in the vendor’s fix.

Check if it affects you →How to fix it

Published 14 October 2020. Record last updated 16 November 2022. We keep this page's data up to date.

What it does

What is CVE-2020-15229? In plain terms.

It can be attacked from anywhere on the internet without logging in, but a person has to take an action first. If it works, the attacker can read data and change data.

The official description

Singularity (an open source container platform) from version 3.1.1 through 3.6.3 has a vulnerability. Due to insecure handling of path traversal and the lack of path sanitization within `unsquashfs`, it is possible to overwrite/create any files on the host filesystem during the extraction with a crafted squashfs filesystem. The extraction occurs automatically for unprivileged (either installation or with `allow setuid = no`) run of Singularity when a user attempt to run an image which is a local SIF image or a single file containing a squashfs filesystem and is coming from remote sources `library://` or `shub://`. Image build is also impacted in a more serious way as it can be used by a root user, allowing an attacker to overwrite/create files leading to a system compromise, so far bootstrap methods `library`, `shub` and `localimage` are triggering the squashfs extraction. This issue is addressed in Singularity 3.6.4. All users are advised to upgrade to 3.6.4 especially if they use Singularity mainly for building image as root user. There is no solid workaround except to temporary avoid to use unprivileged mode with single file images in favor of sandbox images instead. Regarding image build, temporary avoid to build from `library` and `shub` sources and as much as possible use `--fakeroot` or a VM for that.

What kind of flaw is it?

  • CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CVSS 3.1 scoreCritical · 9.3

How an attack on it works

Read straight from its severity rating, translated out of the shorthand.

  • Where an attacker can beAnywhere on the internet
  • How hard it is to pull offEasy: no special conditions
  • Login needed firstNo login needed
  • Does someone have to clickYes, a person has to take an action
  • What an attacker getsCan read data and change data

Severity vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N

Exploitation

Is CVE-2020-15229 being exploited? Not that we know of.

It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts the chance of it being used in the next 30 days at 2.0%. That can change at any time, which is why we keep watching.

Known to be exploitedNoNot on the list of exploited flaws today
Chance of use in the next 30 days2.0%Its EPSS score, from the latest forecast

Timeline

  1. Published
  2. Record last updated
How Precursor Intelligence ranks it
54out of 100Medium

CVE-2020-15229 scores 54. Action: Plan remediation.

We keep the score of every published flaw up to date as the evidence changes. Four things go into the score, and evidence that criminals are actually using it counts most. In order:

  • Evidence it is being exploitedBiggest factor
  • How severe it isStrong factor
  • How widely exposed it isSmaller factor
  • Threat activity around itSmaller factor

85 and above is Critical. Anything confirmed as exploited is always marked for an emergency patch, whatever its score.

When CVE-2020-15229 matches software you track, it lands in your list with its score and the reasons behind it.

See your own ranked list →
Affected products

Who is affected by CVE-2020-15229? 3 products.

The published record lists 3 products from 2 vendors. If you run one of these, check your version, then go to the fix below.

Remediation

How do I fix CVE-2020-15229? Four steps.

  1. Check whether you run itCompare your versions with the affected products above. Not sure what you run? Precursor Intelligence can work it out from your public website, or you can pick it from a list.
  2. Apply the vendor’s fixInstall the update named in the vendor’s advisory. We’ve put the advisories and patch notes first in the list.
  3. If you can’t patch todayFollow any mitigation the vendor publishes, and limit who can reach the affected system from the internet until the update is in.
  4. Keep an eye on itTrack the product and we tell you as soon as we spot this flaw on the list of exploited flaws, or a jump in its exploit likelihood.

References

7 links
Precursor Intelligence

Does CVE-2020-15229 affect you? We'll keep checking.

Looking flaws up one at a time doesn't scale. Tell us what you run once, and we tell you which flaws matter to you, in what order, and keep watching for new ones.

  1. Tell us what you runPick your software from a list, or let us work it out from your website.
  2. We match it to every flawOver 400,000 published flaws, checked against your list.
  3. Ranked by real-world riskA 0 to 100 score, led by evidence criminals are using it.
  4. Told as soon as we knowAn alert by email, in the app or by webhook to your own tools.
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CVE-2020-15229 is a critical-severity flaw in Singularity from Sylabs, published on 14 October 2020. It can be attacked from anywhere on the internet without logging in, but a person has to take an action first. If it works, the attacker can read data and change data.

It scores 9.3 out of 10 on the CVSS severity scale, which is critical. Our risk score for CVE-2020-15229 is 54 out of 100, which is Medium. Its action is "Plan remediation". Not confirmed as exploited yet, but serious or likely enough that it should not wait for a quiet month.

It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts the chance of it being used in the next 30 days at 2.0%. That can change at any time, which is why we keep watching.

For Singularity from Sylabs: 3.1.1 to 3.6.3. The record lists 3 products in all, each with its versions, under "Who is affected" on this page.

Install the update the vendor names in its advisory, linked first under "How do I fix" on this page. If you can't patch today, follow the vendor's mitigation and limit who can reach the affected system from the internet.

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