CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2005-3011

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

Published: Sep 21, 2005 | Modified: Oct 19, 2018
CVSS 3.x
N/A
Source:
NVD
CVSS 2.x
1.2 LOW
AV:L/AC:H/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu
UNTRIAGED

The sort_offline function for texindex in texinfo 4.8 and earlier allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on temporary 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
Texinfo Gnu * 4.8 (including)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 RedHat texinfo-0:4.0b-3.el2.1 *
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 RedHat texinfo-0:4.5-3.el3.1 *
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 RedHat texinfo-0:4.7-5.el4.2 *
Texinfo Ubuntu dapper *
Texinfo Ubuntu devel *
Texinfo Ubuntu edgy *
Texinfo Ubuntu feisty *

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