A new, local privilege escalation vulnerability has been discovered which impacts all Linux systems dating back to, at least, 1997.
This new vulnerability, known as "Rainbow Cow Fart", is sending shockwaves through the InfoSec and SysAdmin communities.
"We've never grappled with anything like Rainbow Cow Fart before," stated one security researcher. "By running one simple command, using two commonly available tools, any user -- on any Linux system -- immediately gains full root access. This compromises the security of all Linux desktops, servers, and embedded devices around the world. Rainbow Cow Fart is, in a word, devastating."
The exploit simply requires the following line to be executed within the terminal of any Linux system:
cowsay fart | lolcat
The process of gaining root access via this method is so simple, that many developers and SysAdmins are baffled as to how it wasn't already discovered.
"Once they caught a whiff of this, critics of Linux security really started rubbing Rainbow Cow Fart in our faces," stated one Linux kernel engineer on the condition of anonymity. "At this point, the exploit is everywhere. The Internet is covered in Rainbow Cow Fart. I bet Microsoft is loving this."
"The insinuation that we are enjoying Rainbow Cow Fart is, frankly, offensive," stated Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella who was definitely not holding back a chuckle. "There is nothing Microsoft takes more seriously than Rainbow Cow Fart. Our Azure Cloud services depend heavily on Linux. The impact of Rainbow Cow Fart is, in a word, overwhelming. It really hits you in the face."
One Fortune 500 company has temporarily ceased all operations at their corporate headquarters, issuing the following internal memo:
"Due to the explosive nature of the Rainbow Cow Fart, we have no choice but to shut down all of our servers until we can clear the air."
