Privilege Escalation on Skylab IIoT Gateway (IGX)
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Adjacent network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-862.
Summary
The Skylab IGX IIoT Gateway allowed users to connect to it via a limited shell terminal (IGX). However, it was discovered that the process was running under root privileges. This allowed the attacker to read, write, and modify any file in the operating system by utilizing the limited shell file exec and download functions. By replacing the /etc/passwd file with a new root user entry, the attacker was able to breakout from the limited shell and login to a unrestricted shell with root access. With the root access, the attacker will be able take full control of the IIoT Gateway.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2024-4163
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-pq98-px5v-5jjc
Sources
- CVE-2024-4163 · CVE Program
- CVE-2024-4163 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-pq98-px5v-5jjc · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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