Skip to main content

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

CVE-2007-4998

Medium
6.9/10

Summary

cp, when running with an option to preserve symlinks on multiple OSes, allows local, user-assisted attackers to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack using crafted directories containing multiple source files that are copied to the same destination.

  • MEDIUM
  • LOCAL
  • NONE
  • COMPLETE
  • COMPLETE
  • COMPLETE

CWE-59 - Improper Link Resolution Before File Access

'Improper link resolution before file access' occurs when software accesses a file resource but fails to verify that the file isn't a link or shortcut to another file. An attacker can potentially gain access to arbitrary files and from there the impact can vary, depending on the application, from sensitive data exposure to remote code execution.

References

Advisory Timeline

  • Published