CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2021-23177

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

Published: Aug 23, 2022 | Modified: Nov 21, 2024
CVSS 3.x
7.8
HIGH
Source:
NVD
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS 2.x
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
7.3 MODERATE
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L
Ubuntu
LOW

An improper link resolution flaw while extracting an archive can lead to changing the access control list (ACL) of the target of the link. An attacker may provide a malicious archive to a victim user, who would trigger this flaw when trying to extract the archive. A local attacker may use this flaw to change the ACL of a file on the system and gain more privileges.

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
Libarchive Libarchive * 3.5.2 (excluding)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 RedHat libarchive-0:3.3.3-3.el8_5 *
Libarchive Ubuntu bionic *
Libarchive Ubuntu esm-infra/bionic *
Libarchive Ubuntu focal *
Libarchive Ubuntu hirsute *
Libarchive Ubuntu impish *
Libarchive Ubuntu trusty *
Libarchive Ubuntu trusty/esm *
Libarchive Ubuntu upstream *
Libarchive 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