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

CVE-2019-12672

Medium
6.8/10

Summary

A vulnerability in the filesystem of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker with physical access to an affected device to execute arbitrary code on the underlying operating system (OS) with root privileges. The vulnerability is due to insufficient file location validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by placing code in a specific format on a USB device and inserting it into an affected Cisco device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute the code with root privileges on the underlying OS of the affected device.

  • LOW
  • PHYSICAL
  • HIGH
  • UNCHANGED
  • NONE
  • NONE
  • HIGH
  • HIGH

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