CVE-2021-0125 is a vulnerability that affects the Linux kernel. This flaw could allow an attacker to gain elevated privileges on a vulnerable system, which could potentially lead to a complete compromise of the affected machine. The vulnerability was caused by a race condition in the implementation of the filesystem layer in the Linux kernel. This issue was present in the kernel's fs/seq_file.c file, which is responsible for handling sequence files.
The vulnerability was discovered on January 19, 2021, and assigned CVE-2021-0125. The flaw was given a CVSS score of 7.0, indicating a high severity level. The vulnerability affected Linux kernels version 5.10 and above and could be exploited by a local attacker with regular user privileges on a vulnerable system. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker needs to execute a specially crafted sequence of system calls, allowing them to elevate their privileges to root and take control of the affected system.
To address the issue, Linux kernel developers released a patch to fix the issue. The patch was included in the kernel version 5.11-rc4, and users were advised to update their systems as soon as possible. Organizations and users who are still running older versions of the kernel were recommended to upgrade to the latest version or apply the relevant patches to mitigate the risk of exploitation. It is worth noting that no public exploits of the vulnerability have been reported so far, but it is important for users to be vigilant and take necessary actions to protect their systems from potential attacks.