CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2012-3440

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

Published: Aug 08, 2012 | Modified: Feb 13, 2023
CVSS 3.x
N/A
Source:
NVD
CVSS 2.x
5.6 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:H/Au:N/C:N/I:C/A:C
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu

A certain Red Hat script for sudo 1.7.2 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the /var/tmp/nsswitch.conf.bak 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
Sudo Todd_miller 1.7.2 1.7.2
Enterprise_linux Redhat 5 5

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