Vulnerabilities
Misconfiguration
Runtime Security
Compliance
CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2003-0578

Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

Published: Aug 18, 2003 | Modified: Apr 03, 2025
CVSS 3.x
7.8
HIGH
Source:
NVD
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS 2.x
4.6 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu
Additional information
NVDhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2003-0578
CWEhttps://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/59.html

cci_dir in IBM U2 UniVerse 10.0.0.9 and earlier creates hard links and unlinks files as root, which allows local users to gain privileges by deleting and overwriting arbitrary files.

Weakness

The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.

Affected Software

Name Vendor Start Version End Version
U2_universe Ibm * 10.0.0.9 (including)

Potential Mitigations

  • Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to entities in a software system.
  • Denying access to a file can prevent an attacker from replacing that file with a link to a sensitive file. Ensure good compartmentalization in the system to provide protected areas that can be trusted.

References

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