CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2011-3154

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

Published: Apr 17, 2014 | Modified: May 05, 2014
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

DistUpgrade/DistUpgradeViewKDE.py in Update Manager before 1:0.87.31.1, 1:0.134.x before 1:0.134.11.1, 1:0.142.x before 1:0.142.23.1, 1:0.150.x before 1:0.150.5.1, and 1:0.152.x before 1:0.152.25.5 does not properly create temporary files, which allows local users to obtain the XAUTHORITY file content for a user via a symlink attack on the temporary file.

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
Update-manager Canonical * 1:0.87.24 (including)
Update-manager Canonical 1:0.134.7 (including) 1:0.134.7 (including)
Update-manager Canonical 1:0.142.19 (including) 1:0.142.19 (including)
Update-manager Canonical 1:0.150 (including) 1:0.150 (including)
Update-manager Canonical 1:0.152.25 (including) 1:0.152.25 (including)
Ubuntu_linux Canonical 8.04 (including) 8.04 (including)
Ubuntu_linux Canonical 10.04 (including) 10.04 (including)
Ubuntu_linux Canonical 10.10 (including) 10.10 (including)
Ubuntu_linux Canonical 11.04 (including) 11.04 (including)
Ubuntu_linux Canonical 11.10 (including) 11.10 (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