Vulnerabilities
Misconfiguration
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CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2015-5700

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

Published: Aug 25, 2017 | Modified: Apr 20, 2025
CVSS 3.x
6.1
MEDIUM
Source:
NVD
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N
CVSS 2.x
5.6 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:C/A:N
RedHat/V2
2.1 LOW
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu
LOW
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Additional information
NVDhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-5700
CWEhttps://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/59.html

mktexlsr revision 22855 through revision 36625 as packaged in texlive 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

NameVendorStart VersionEnd Version
TexliveTug20100722 (including)20100722 (including)
TexliveTug20110705 (including)20110705 (including)
TexliveTug20120701 (including)20120701 (including)
TexliveTug20130530 (including)20130530 (including)
TexliveTug20140525 (including)20140525 (including)
Texlive-binUbuntutrusty*
Texlive-binUbuntuupstream*

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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