Linux privilege escalation can occur through the use of cron wildcards, which are special characters that can be utilized in cron job scheduling. These wildcards allow for flexible time specification, enabling users to set tasks to run at various intervals. However, if misconfigured, they can introduce vulnerabilities. An attacker may exploit these vulnerabilities by crafting a malicious script that runs with elevated privileges when the cron job executes. This can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive areas of the system or the ability to execute arbitrary commands with higher permissions. It is crucial for system administrators to regularly review cron configurations and ensure that only trusted scripts are scheduled to run, as well as to properly restrict permissions on these scripts to mitigate potential risks associated with cron wildcard usage.
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