Vulnerabilities
Misconfiguration
Compliance
CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2011-4105

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

Published: Feb 17, 2012 | Modified: Apr 11, 2025
CVSS 3.x
N/A
Source:
NVD
CVSS 2.x
1.9 LOW
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu
MEDIUM
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Additional information
NVDhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-4105
CWEhttps://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/59.html

LightDM before 1.0.6 allows local users to change ownership of arbitrary files via a symlink attack on ~/.Xauthority.

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

NameVendorStart VersionEnd Version
LightdmRobert_ancell*1.0.5 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.0.1 (including)0.0.1 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.0.2 (including)0.0.2 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.0.3 (including)0.0.3 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.0.4 (including)0.0.4 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.1.0 (including)0.1.0 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.1.1 (including)0.1.1 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.1.2 (including)0.1.2 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.2.0 (including)0.2.0 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.2.1 (including)0.2.1 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.2.2 (including)0.2.2 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.2.3 (including)0.2.3 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.3.0 (including)0.3.0 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.3.1 (including)0.3.1 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.3.2 (including)0.3.2 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.3.3 (including)0.3.3 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.3.4 (including)0.3.4 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.3.5 (including)0.3.5 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.3.6 (including)0.3.6 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.4.0 (including)0.4.0 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.4.1 (including)0.4.1 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.4.2 (including)0.4.2 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.4.3 (including)0.4.3 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.4.4 (including)0.4.4 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.9.0 (including)0.9.0 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.9.1 (including)0.9.1 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.9.2 (including)0.9.2 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.9.3 (including)0.9.3 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.9.4 (including)0.9.4 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.9.5 (including)0.9.5 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.9.6 (including)0.9.6 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.9.7 (including)0.9.7 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell0.9.8 (including)0.9.8 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell1.0.0 (including)1.0.0 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell1.0.1 (including)1.0.1 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell1.0.2 (including)1.0.2 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell1.0.3 (including)1.0.3 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell1.0.4 (including)1.0.4 (including)
LightdmRobert_ancell1.1.0 (including)1.1.0 (including)
LightdmUbuntudevel*
LightdmUbuntunatty*
LightdmUbuntuoneiric*
LightdmUbuntuprecise*
LightdmUbuntuquantal*

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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