CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2008-4953

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

Published: Nov 05, 2008 | Modified: Nov 07, 2023
CVSS 3.x
N/A
Source:
NVD
CVSS 2.x
6.9 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu

firehol in firehol 1.256 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on (1) /tmp/.firehol-tmp-#####-- and (2) /tmp/firehol.conf temporary files. NOTE: the vendor disputes this vulnerability, stating that an attack would require an attacker to create 1073741824*PID-RANGE symlinks.

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
Firehol Firehol 1.256 1.256

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