Skip to main content

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

CVE-2021-32550

Medium
5.5/10

Summary

It was discovered that read_file() in apport/hookutils.py would follow symbolic links or open FIFOs. When this function is used by the openjdk-14 package apport hooks, it could expose private data to other local users.

  • LOW
  • LOCAL
  • NONE
  • UNCHANGED
  • NONE
  • LOW
  • HIGH
  • NONE

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