Vulnerabilities
Misconfiguration
Compliance
CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2014-1624

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

Published: Jan 28, 2014 | Modified: Apr 11, 2025
CVSS 3.x
N/A
Source:
NVD
CVSS 2.x
3.3 LOW
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P
RedHat/V2
3.3 MODERATE
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu
LOW
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Additional information
NVDhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-1624
CWEhttps://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/59.html

Race condition in the xdg.BaseDirectory.get_runtime_dir function in python-xdg 0.25 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files by pre-creating /tmp/pyxdg-runtime-dir-fallback-victim to point to a victim-owned location, then replacing it with a symlink to an attacker-controlled location once the get_runtime_dir function is called.

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
PyxdgPython0.25 (including)0.25 (including)
PyxdgUbuntuartful*
PyxdgUbuntuesm-infra-legacy/trusty*
PyxdgUbuntuesm-infra/xenial*
PyxdgUbuntulucid*
PyxdgUbuntuprecise*
PyxdgUbuntuquantal*
PyxdgUbunturaring*
PyxdgUbuntusaucy*
PyxdgUbuntutrusty*
PyxdgUbuntutrusty/esm*
PyxdgUbuntuupstream*
PyxdgUbuntuutopic*
PyxdgUbuntuvivid*
PyxdgUbuntuvivid/stable-phone-overlay*
PyxdgUbuntuvivid/ubuntu-core*
PyxdgUbuntuwily*
PyxdgUbuntuxenial*
PyxdgUbuntuyakkety*
PyxdgUbuntuzesty*

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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