Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-25314 affects SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability systems running vulnerable hawk2 packages. A local user could abuse insecure temporary file permissions to gain root privileges. This is not a remote internet attack, but it is serious on shared, administered, or already-compromised servers.
Executive priority
Treat as a high-priority patching item for affected SUSE HA servers, especially production cluster nodes. It is local-only, but successful exploitation can hand an attacker full root control.
Technical view
The issue is CWE-378 in hawk2: temporary files are created with insecure permissions. The CVSS 3.1 score is 7.8 with local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability 12-SP3, 12-SP5, and 15-SP2 systems with hawk2 below the fixed builds listed by CVE metadata.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. Exploitation requires local access with low privileges, so risk rises where untrusted users, service accounts, or compromised applications exist on affected hosts.
Researcher notes
The provided evidence identifies affected SUSE HA service packs, hawk2 version thresholds, CWE-378, and CVSS details. It does not provide exploit details, proof of active exploitation, or broader affected product claims.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade hawk2 to the fixed SUSE build for the affected service pack.
- Check SUSE Bugzilla or vendor maintenance guidance for applicable package channels.
- Prioritize HA cluster nodes with local users or exposed application workloads.
- Limit unnecessary local accounts and service privileges on affected systems.
Validation and detection
- Inventory SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability 12-SP3, 12-SP5, and 15-SP2 hosts.
- Check installed hawk2 package versions against the fixed versions in CVE metadata.
- Confirm affected systems received the relevant SUSE maintenance update.
- Review local account and service access on unpatched HA nodes.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
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-378: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. 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.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-25314 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- 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
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.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe 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.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1182166CVE reference
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Creation of Temporary File With Insecure Permissions
Creation of Temporary File With Insecure Permissions represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.