CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2011-1920

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

Published: May 23, 2011 | Modified: Aug 17, 2017
CVSS 3.x
N/A
Source:
NVD
CVSS 2.x
3.3 LOW
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu

The make include files in NetBSD before 1.6.2, as used in pmake 1.111 and other products, allow local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a /tmp/_depend##### temporary file, related to (1) bsd.lib.mk and (2) bsd.prog.mk.

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
Netbsd Netbsd * *
Netbsd Netbsd * 1.6.1 (including)
Netbsd Netbsd 1.0 (including) 1.0 (including)
Netbsd Netbsd 1.1 (including) 1.1 (including)
Netbsd Netbsd 1.2 (including) 1.2 (including)
Netbsd Netbsd 1.2.1 (including) 1.2.1 (including)
Netbsd Netbsd 1.3 (including) 1.3 (including)
Netbsd Netbsd 1.3.1 (including) 1.3.1 (including)
Netbsd Netbsd 1.3.2 (including) 1.3.2 (including)
Netbsd Netbsd 1.3.3 (including) 1.3.3 (including)
Netbsd Netbsd 1.4 (including) 1.4 (including)
Netbsd Netbsd 1.4.1 (including) 1.4.1 (including)
Netbsd Netbsd 1.4.2 (including) 1.4.2 (including)
Netbsd Netbsd 1.4.3 (including) 1.4.3 (including)
Netbsd Netbsd 1.5 (including) 1.5 (including)
Netbsd Netbsd 1.5.1 (including) 1.5.1 (including)
Netbsd Netbsd 1.5.2 (including) 1.5.2 (including)
Netbsd Netbsd 1.5.3 (including) 1.5.3 (including)
Netbsd Netbsd 1.6 (including) 1.6 (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