Vulnerabilities
Misconfiguration
Compliance
CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2008-4190

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

Published: Sep 24, 2008 | Modified: Apr 09, 2025
CVSS 3.x
N/A
Source:
NVD
CVSS 2.x
4.4 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu
LOW
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Additional information
NVDhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-4190
CWEhttps://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/59.html

The IPSEC livetest tool in Openswan 2.4.12 and earlier, and 2.6.x through 2.6.16, allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files and execute arbitrary code via a symlink attack on the (1) ipseclive.conn and (2) ipsec.olts.remote.log temporary files. NOTE: in many distributions and the upstream version, this tool has been disabled.

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

NameVendorStart VersionEnd Version
OpenswanOpenswan1.0.4 (including)1.0.4 (including)
OpenswanOpenswan1.0.5 (including)1.0.5 (including)
OpenswanOpenswan1.0.6 (including)1.0.6 (including)
OpenswanOpenswan1.0.7 (including)1.0.7 (including)
OpenswanOpenswan1.0.8 (including)1.0.8 (including)
OpenswanOpenswan1.0.9 (including)1.0.9 (including)
OpenswanOpenswan2.1.1 (including)2.1.1 (including)
OpenswanOpenswan2.1.2 (including)2.1.2 (including)
OpenswanOpenswan2.1.4 (including)2.1.4 (including)
OpenswanOpenswan2.1.5 (including)2.1.5 (including)
OpenswanOpenswan2.1.6 (including)2.1.6 (including)
OpenswanOpenswan2.2 (including)2.2 (including)
OpenswanOpenswan2.3 (including)2.3 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.3.1 (including)2.3.1 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.4.0 (including)2.4.0 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.4.1 (including)2.4.1 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.4.2 (including)2.4.2 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.4.3 (including)2.4.3 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.4.4 (including)2.4.4 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.4.5 (including)2.4.5 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.4.6 (including)2.4.6 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.4.7 (including)2.4.7 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.4.8 (including)2.4.8 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.4.9 (including)2.4.9 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.4.10 (including)2.4.10 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.4.11 (including)2.4.11 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.4.12 (including)2.4.12 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.6.03 (including)2.6.03 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.6.04 (including)2.6.04 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.6.05 (including)2.6.05 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.6.06 (including)2.6.06 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.6.07 (including)2.6.07 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.6.08 (including)2.6.08 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.6.09 (including)2.6.09 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.6.10 (including)2.6.10 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.6.11 (including)2.6.11 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.6.12 (including)2.6.12 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.6.13 (including)2.6.13 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.6.14 (including)2.6.14 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.6.15 (including)2.6.15 (including)
OpenswanXelerance2.6.16 (including)2.6.16 (including)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5RedHatopenswan-0:2.6.14-1.el5_3.2*
OpenswanUbuntudapper*
OpenswanUbuntufeisty*
OpenswanUbuntugutsy*
OpenswanUbuntuhardy*
OpenswanUbuntuupstream*

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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