CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2019-11396

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

Published: Aug 29, 2019 | Modified: Aug 24, 2020
CVSS 3.x
7.8
HIGH
Source:
NVD
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS 2.x
7.2 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu

An issue was discovered in Avira Free Security Suite 10. The permissive access rights on the SoftwareUpdater folder (files / folders and configuration) are incompatible with the privileged file manipulation performed by the product. Files can be created that can be used by an unprivileged user to obtain SYSTEM privileges. Arbitrary file creation can be achieved by abusing the SwuConfig.json file creation: an unprivileged user can replace these files by pseudo-symbolic links to arbitrary files. When an update occurs, a privileged service creates a file and sets its access rights, offering write access to the Everyone group in any directory.

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
Free_security_suite Avira 2019 (including) 2019 (including)
Software_updater Avira * 2.0.6.13175 (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