CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2019-11503

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

Published: Apr 24, 2019 | Modified: Nov 07, 2023
CVSS 3.x
7.5
HIGH
Source:
NVD
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
CVSS 2.x
5 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu
LOW

snap-confine as included in snapd before 2.39 did not guard against symlink races when performing the chdir() to the current working directory of the calling user, aka a cwd restore permission bypass.

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
Snapd Canonical * 2.39 (excluding)
Snapd Ubuntu bionic *
Snapd Ubuntu cosmic *
Snapd Ubuntu disco *
Snapd Ubuntu eoan *
Snapd Ubuntu trusty *
Snapd Ubuntu trusty/esm *
Snapd Ubuntu upstream *
Snapd Ubuntu xenial *

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