CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2015-3149

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

Published: Jul 25, 2017 | Modified: Feb 13, 2023
CVSS 3.x
5.5
MEDIUM
Source:
NVD
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
CVSS 2.x
2.1 LOW
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu

The Hotspot component in OpenJDK8 as packaged in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and 7 allows local users to write to arbitrary files via a symlink attack.

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
Enterprise_linux_desktop Redhat 7.0 7.0
Enterprise_linux_server_eus Redhat 6.6z 6.6z
Enterprise_linux_workstation Redhat 7.0 7.0
Enterprise_linux_server Redhat 7.0 7.0
Enterprise_linux_hpc_node Redhat 6.0 6.0
Enterprise_linux_server_aus Redhat 6.6 6.6
Enterprise_linux_hpc_node Redhat 7.0 7.0
Enterprise_linux_server_eus Redhat 7.1 7.1
Enterprise_linux_desktop Redhat 6.0 6.0
Enterprise_linux_server Redhat 6.0 6.0
Enterprise_linux_hpc_node_eus Redhat 7.1 7.1
Enterprise_linux_workstation Redhat 6.0 6.0

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