Versions of the Amazon AWS Apache Log4j hotpatch package before log4j-cve-2021-44228-hotpatch-1.3.5 are affected by a race condition that could lead to a local privilege escalation. This Hotpatch package is not a replacement for updating to a log4j version that mitigates CVE-2021-44228 or CVE-2021-45046; it provides a temporary mitigation to CVE-2021-44228 by hotpatching the local Java virtual machines. To do so, it iterates through all running Java processes, performs several checks, and executes the Java virtual machine with the same permissions and capabilities as the running process to load the hotpatch. A local user could cause the hotpatch script to execute a binary with elevated privileges by running a custom java process that performs exec() of an SUID binary after the hotpatch has observed the process path and before it has observed its effective user ID.
This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.0, requiring local system access to exploit but requires specific conditions to be met without requiring user interaction requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from amazon organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
Reported in 2022, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.
2022-06-17T13:15:17.083
2024-11-21T07:08:35.840
Modified
CVSSv3.1: 7.0 (HIGH)
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
3.4
6.4
SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For amazon's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.