CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2013-6456

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

Published: Apr 15, 2014 | Modified: Feb 13, 2023
CVSS 3.x
N/A
Source:
NVD
CVSS 2.x
5.8 MEDIUM
AV:A/AC:M/Au:S/C:N/I:P/A:C
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu

The LXC driver (lxc/lxc_driver.c) in libvirt 1.0.1 through 1.2.1 allows local users to (1) delete arbitrary host devices via the virDomainDeviceDettach API and a symlink attack on /dev in the container; (2) create arbitrary nodes (mknod) via the virDomainDeviceAttach API and a symlink attack on /dev in the container; and cause a denial of service (shutdown or reboot host OS) via the (3) virDomainShutdown or (4) virDomainReboot API and a symlink attack on /dev/initctl in the container, related to paths under /proc/$PID/root and the virInitctlSetRunLevel function.

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
Libvirt Redhat 1.0.1 (including) 1.0.1 (including)
Libvirt Redhat 1.0.2 (including) 1.0.2 (including)
Libvirt Redhat 1.0.3 (including) 1.0.3 (including)
Libvirt Redhat 1.0.4 (including) 1.0.4 (including)
Libvirt Redhat 1.0.5 (including) 1.0.5 (including)
Libvirt Redhat 1.0.5.1 (including) 1.0.5.1 (including)
Libvirt Redhat 1.0.5.2 (including) 1.0.5.2 (including)
Libvirt Redhat 1.0.5.3 (including) 1.0.5.3 (including)
Libvirt Redhat 1.0.5.4 (including) 1.0.5.4 (including)
Libvirt Redhat 1.0.5.5 (including) 1.0.5.5 (including)
Libvirt Redhat 1.0.5.6 (including) 1.0.5.6 (including)
Libvirt Redhat 1.0.6 (including) 1.0.6 (including)
Libvirt Redhat 1.1.0 (including) 1.1.0 (including)
Libvirt Redhat 1.1.1 (including) 1.1.1 (including)
Libvirt Redhat 1.1.2 (including) 1.1.2 (including)
Libvirt Redhat 1.1.3 (including) 1.1.3 (including)
Libvirt Redhat 1.1.4 (including) 1.1.4 (including)
Libvirt Redhat 1.2.0 (including) 1.2.0 (including)
Libvirt Redhat 1.2.1 (including) 1.2.1 (including)
Fedora Fedoraproject 20 (including) 20 (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