CVE-2011-3351

openvas-scanner before 2011-09-11 creates a temporary file insecurely when generating OVAL system characteristics document with the ovaldi integrated tool enabled. A local attacker could use this flaw to conduct symlink attacks to overwrite arbitrary files on the system.

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

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.

Related Attack Patterns

• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/132.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/17.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/35.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/76.html

References

• https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2011-3351
• https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2011-3351
• https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2011-3351
• https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2011-3351