CVE-2015-5700: Medium severity Tug Texlive vulnerability
It was reported [1] that mktexlsr script uses /tmp in an insecure way. Part of original report: ... This is how mktexlsr uses temporary files (with boring parts snipped):
treefile="${TMPDIR-/tmp}/mktexlsrtrees$$.tmp" ... while test $# -gt 0; do # ... (umask 077 if echo "$1" >>"$treefile"; then :; else echo "$progname: $treefile: could not append to arg file, goodbye." >&2 exit 1 fi # ... done
This is insecure because the filename is predictable and, more importantly, the program doesn't fail atomically if the file already exists. ...
Suggested patch is attached.
[1]: https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=775139
Other sources
mktexlsr revision 22855 through revision 36625 as packaged in texlive allows local users to write to arbitrary files via a symlink attack.
— Launchpad
Affected Software
Remediation
Patch Available
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2015-5700?
CVE-2015-5700 is a vulnerability that allows local users to write to arbitrary files via a symlink attack in mktexlsr revision 22855 through revision 36625 as packaged in texlive.
Which software versions are affected by CVE-2015-5700?
The texlive package versions 2014.20140926.35254-5, 2013.20130729.30972-2ubuntu0.1, 20100722, 20110705, 20120701, 20130530, and 20140525 are affected by CVE-2015-5700.
How can this vulnerability be exploited?
This vulnerability can be exploited by local users who can create a symlink attack to write to arbitrary files.
What is the severity of CVE-2015-5700?
The severity of CVE-2015-5700 is medium with a severity value of 6.1.
Where can I find more information about CVE-2015-5700?
You can find more information about CVE-2015-5700 at the following references: [1] [2] [3].