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CVE Record

CVE-2023-6917: Pcp: unsafe use of directories allows pcp to root privilege escalation

A vulnerability has been identified in the Performance Co-Pilot (PCP) package, stemming from the mixed privilege levels utilized by systemd services associated with PCP. While certain services operate within the confines of limited PCP user/group privileges, others are granted full root privileges. This disparity in privilege levels poses a risk when privileged root processes interact with directories or directory trees owned by unprivileged PCP users. Specifically, this vulnerability may lead to the compromise of PCP user isolation and facilitate local PCP-to-root exploits, particularly through symlink attacks. These vulnerabilities underscore the importance of maintaining robust privilege separation mechanisms within PCP to mitigate the potential for unauthorized privilege escalation.

MediumCVSS 6Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's Takemoderate

Analyst readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2023-6917 is a local privilege escalation risk in Red Hat’s Performance Co-Pilot package. Some PCP services run with limited privileges while others run as root. If root-level PCP processes use directories controlled by the lower-privileged pcp user, an attacker with that access may be able to escalate to root.

Executive priority

Treat as a moderate patching item. It is not presented as internet-exploitable or actively exploited, but it can turn limited local PCP access into root. Address during normal Linux security maintenance, faster for shared systems or environments with many local users.

Technical view

The issue is unsafe directory handling across mixed PCP service privilege levels, mapped to CWE-367. Red Hat describes potential PCP-user-to-root escalation, particularly through symlink-style race conditions. CVSS 3.1 is 6.0: local attack, low complexity, high privileges required, no user interaction, high confidentiality and integrity impact.

Likely exposure

Most relevant exposure is Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems running the pcp package, especially RHEL 8 and RHEL 9. The bundle marks RHEL 9 package 0:6.2.0-1.el9 affected and RHEL 8 affected. RHEL 6 and 7 status is listed as unknown.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires local high-privileged access to the pcp context, so this is less urgent than remote unauthenticated flaws but important on shared, monitored, or multi-user Linux systems.

Researcher notes

Key unknowns remain: the bundle does not include proof-of-concept detail, exploit telemetry, or full fixed-version boundaries. The core audit focus is privilege separation between PCP systemd services and any root process interaction with pcp-owned directory trees.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply Red Hat fixes from RHSA-2024:2213 where applicable.
  • Check Red Hat CVE guidance for exact package remediation by platform.
  • Prioritize systems where PCP is installed and local users have shell access.
  • If PCP is unnecessary, review vendor-supported options to disable or remove it.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory RHEL hosts for installed pcp packages and enabled PCP services.
  • Compare RHEL versions and pcp package versions with Red Hat advisory data.
  • Confirm affected hosts received RHSA-2024:2213 or later applicable fixes.
  • Track RHEL 6 and 7 separately because the bundle lists status as unknown.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
5

Based on public source material and reviewed before publication.

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

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cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-367: Exact CWE lookup

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description · low confidence lookup

Privilege behavior lookup

The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2023-6917 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
Medium
CVSS
6 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

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

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
4Source 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
6CVSS 3.1MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N0.85.2Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

6Medium
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2023-6917Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

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
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 9pcp, 0:6.2.0-1.el9affected
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 6pcpunknown
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 7pcpunknown
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8pcpaffected
Weakness

CWE details

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

CWE-367 · source CWE mapping

Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition

Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.