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CVE-2020-36770: pkg_postinst in the Gentoo ebuild for Slurm through 22.05.3 unnecessarily calls chown to assign root's owne...

pkg_postinst in the Gentoo ebuild for Slurm through 22.05.3 unnecessarily calls chown to assign root's ownership on files in the live root filesystem. This could be exploited by the slurm user to become the owner of root-owned files.

HighCVSS 7.8Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This is a local privilege-escalation issue in Gentoo's Slurm ebuild. During post-installation, packaging logic could change ownership of files in the live root filesystem. A low-privileged slurm user could potentially become owner of files that should remain root-owned, creating a path to system compromise.

Executive priority

Treat as high priority for Gentoo-based Slurm environments, especially shared compute clusters. The issue is local, not remotely exploitable from the supplied evidence, but successful abuse could give broad host control.

Technical view

CVE-2020-36770 affects pkg_postinst in the Gentoo ebuild for Slurm through 22.05.3. The issue is improper permission assignment, mapped to CWE-732, with CVSS 3.1 score 7.8. The source bundle describes local, low-complexity exploitation requiring low privileges and no user interaction.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to Gentoo systems using the Slurm ebuild through 22.05.3. The provided affected-product metadata is incomplete, so do not assume upstream Slurm or non-Gentoo packages are affected without vendor confirmation.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show active exploitation, and KEV is false. Exploitation would require local access as, or influence over, the slurm user. The business risk is highest on shared HPC, research, or batch-processing systems with multiple local users.

Researcher notes

The public bundle identifies the vulnerable packaging behavior but provides incomplete affected-product metadata and no named fixed version. Focus validation on Gentoo ebuild provenance, installed Slurm version, post-install script behavior, and unexpected file ownership changes.

Mitigation direction

  • Check Gentoo Bug 631552 and Gentoo package guidance for the corrected ebuild.
  • Upgrade affected Gentoo Slurm packages through the supported package manager when a fixed ebuild is available.
  • Avoid rerunning vulnerable post-install logic until vendor guidance is reviewed.
  • Review ownership of sensitive root-owned files on affected hosts.
  • Restrict interactive access and credential exposure for the slurm account.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Gentoo hosts running Slurm ebuild versions through 22.05.3.
  • Confirm whether installed package metadata includes the vulnerable pkg_postinst behavior.
  • Review package installation logs for Slurm post-install ownership changes.
  • Check whether sensitive root-owned files are unexpectedly owned by slurm.
  • Document systems where affected-product status cannot be confirmed.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
3

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cwe · medium confidence lookup

CWE-732: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup

Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2020-36770 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
7.8 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
2Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
7.8CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

7.8High
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2020-36770Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-732

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.