GLSA-200404-08 : GNU Automake symbolic link vulnerability

medium Nessus Plugin ID 14473

Synopsis

The remote Gentoo host is missing one or more security-related patches.

Description

The remote host is affected by the vulnerability described in GLSA-200404-08 (GNU Automake symbolic link vulnerability)

Automake may be vulnerable to a symbolic link attack which may allow an attacker to modify data or escalate their privileges. This is due to the insecure way Automake creates directories during compilation. An attacker may be able to create symbolic links in the place of files contained in the affected directories, which may potentially lead to elevated privileges due to modification of data.
Impact :

An attacker may be able to use this vulnerability to modify data in an unauthorized fashion or elevate their privileges.
Workaround :

A workaround is not currently known for this issue. All users are advised to upgrade to the latest version of the affected package.

Solution

Automake users should upgrade to the latest versions:
# emerge --sync # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose sys-devel/automake

See Also

https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/200404-08

Plugin Details

Severity: Medium

ID: 14473

File Name: gentoo_GLSA-200404-08.nasl

Version: 1.12

Type: local

Published: 8/30/2004

Updated: 1/6/2021

Supported Sensors: Nessus

Vulnerability Information

CPE: p-cpe:/a:gentoo:linux:automake, cpe:/o:gentoo:linux

Required KB Items: Host/local_checks_enabled, Host/Gentoo/release, Host/Gentoo/qpkg-list

Patch Publication Date: 4/8/2004

Reference Information

GLSA: 200404-08