Loading vulnerability…
CVE-2021-44731 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in snap-confine, the privileged helper used by snapd to prepare a snap application's private mount namespace. The flaw is caused by a race condition during private mount namespace setup, specifically in the setup_private_mount() logic. An unprivileged local attacker can win the race and bind-mount attacker-controlled content into the snap's private mount namespace while snap-confine is performing privileged operations. By influencing what snap-confine subsequently executes inside that namespace, the attacker can cause arbitrary code execution with root privileges.
Mallory correlates every CVE against your assets, your vendors, and active adversary campaigns. Know which vulnerabilities matter for you, not just which ones are loud.
What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.
What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.
If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.
Patch, then assume compromise.
1 valid exploit after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos.
This repository contains a local privilege escalation exploit for CVE-2021-44731, targeting vulnerable versions (2.54.2 and lower) of Canonical's snap-confine utility on Linux systems. The exploit is implemented as a Bash script (snap_confine_LPE.sh) that searches the filesystem for snap-confine binaries, checks their versions, and if a vulnerable version is found, proceeds to stage and compile a C payload (snap-discard-ns.c). This payload, when executed, sets its UID and GID to root, manipulates AppArmor profiles, and spawns a reverse shell to the attacker's host (10.8.0.134:4447). The README provides usage instructions and example output, demonstrating successful exploitation and root shell access. The exploit requires local access to the target system and is operational, providing a working root shell if the target is vulnerable. Notable endpoints include the snap-confine binary locations, temporary directories used for staging, and the attacker's IP and port for the reverse shell connection.
Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.
Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.
3 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
A previously disclosed local privilege escalation vulnerability in snap-confine involving a race condition in setup_private_mount().
A previously disclosed privilege escalation vulnerability in snap-confine (Snap packaging) referenced as the precursor to later issues.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.