Security researchers have discovered a critical vulnerability by name Grinch Bug, which can be exploited by malicious hackers to obtain unauthorized access root on Linux computers.
The vulnerability concerns the authentication system (authorization system) of Linux and allows privilege escalation via the wheel (Unix terminology).
The new bug leaves Linux system administrators awake a few days after it poodle - Another deadly error of 2014 - has come back to the forefront. Grinch's vulnerability affects all distributions of the Linux operating system and, according to researchers from Alert Logic, which uncovered the bug last Tuesday, potentially gives root access to any attacker without the use of codes or special encryption keys.
A hacker could exploit the vulnerability either by converting registered user accounts to wheels or by exploiting the Policy Kit (Polkit), a graphical interfaceUser Interface used by ordinary users to perform tasks that require administrator privileges.
