Vulnerabilities
Misconfiguration
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CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2011-3153

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

Published: Mar 06, 2014 | Modified: Apr 12, 2025
CVSS 3.x
N/A
Source:
NVD
CVSS 2.x
1.9 LOW
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu
MEDIUM
Vulnerability-free packages from our partners
Additional information
NVDhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-3153
CWEhttps://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/59.html

dmrc.c in Light Display Manager (aka LightDM) before 1.1.1 allows local users to read arbitrary files via a symlink attack on ~/.dmrc.

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
Ubuntu_linux Canonical 11.10 (including) 11.10 (including)
Lightdm Ubuntu devel *
Lightdm Ubuntu natty *
Lightdm Ubuntu oneiric *
Lightdm Ubuntu precise *
Lightdm Ubuntu quantal *

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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