Published on: 02 April 2024
A malicious backdoor is found embedded in versions 5.6.0 and 5.6.1 of XZ Utils. XZ Utils is a data compression library and may be present in some Linux distributions. A remote unauthenticated attacker could exploit the backdoor to gain unauthorised access to a vulnerable system.
Several product vendors have issued a security advisory regarding a backdoor found in XZ Utils versions 5.6.0 and 5.6.1 which are used by some Linux distributions. The backdoor issue, tracked as CVE-2024-3094, is at a high risk of exploitation as revealed by a number of reports and could enable a malicious actor to gain unauthorised access to an affected system. System administrators are advised to take immediate actions to mitigate the elevated risk of cyber attacks.
The successful exploitation of the backdoor could lead to unauthorised access to an affected system.
Developers and users are recommended to downgrade the affected XZ Utils to a known unaffected version, such as version 5.4.6 Stable.
Administrators of Linux systems are advised to consult the corresponding product vendors on whether their Linux distributions in use are affected. If so, it is recommended to immediately stop using the affected Linux distributions and follow the recommendations provided by the product vendors to mitigate the risk. The following non-exhaustive list of Linux distributions are known to be affected by the backdoor issue: