CentOS Linux 7 [TuxCare] Security Update: curl / libcurl / libcurl-devel (CENTOS7:CLSA-2023:1697463947)

low Nessus Plugin ID 351727

Synopsis

The CentOS Linux host is missing one or more security updates.

Description

The CentOS Linux 7 host has packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the TuxCare CENTOS7:CLSA-2023:1697463947 advisory.

- This flaw allows an attacker to insert cookies at will into a running program using libcurl, if the specific series of conditions are met. libcurl performs transfers. In its API, an application creates easy handles that are the individual handles for single transfers. libcurl provides a function call that duplicates en easy handle called [curl_easy_duphandle](https://curl.se/libcurl/c/curl_easy_duphandle.html). If a transfer has cookies enabled when the handle is duplicated, the cookie-enable state is also cloned - but without cloning the actual cookies. If the source handle did not read any cookies from a specific file on disk, the cloned version of the handle would instead store the file name as `none` (using the four ASCII letters, no quotes). Subsequent use of the cloned handle that does not explicitly set a source to load cookies from would then inadvertently load cookies from a file named `none` - if such a file exists and is readable in the current directory of the program using libcurl. And if using the correct file format of course.
(CVE-2023-38546)

- CVE-2023-38546 is a cookie injection vulnerability in the curl_easy_duphandle(), a function in libcurl that duplicates easy handles. When duplicating an easy handle, if cookies are enabled, the duplicated easy handle will not duplicate the cookies themselves, but would instead set the filename to none.' Therefore, when the duplicated easy handle is subsequently used, if a source was not set for the cookies, libcurl would attempt to load them from the file named none' on the disk. This vulnerability is rated low, as the various conditions required for exploitation are unlikely. (CVE-2023-38546)

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

Solution

Update the affected packages based on the guidance in TuxCare advisory CENTOS7:CLSA-2023:1697463947.

See Also

https://cve.tuxcare.com/els/releases/CLSA-2023:1697463947

http://www.nessus.org/u?4ecaa7dc

Plugin Details

Severity: Low

ID: 351727

File Name: tuxcare_centos_7_CLSA-2023-1697463947.nasl

Version: 1.2

Type: Local

Agent: unix

Published: 9/30/2026

Updated: 10/1/2026

Supported Sensors: Nessus Agent, Continuous Assessment, Tenable Cloud Security, Tenable Self-Hosted Container Security, Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Low

Score: 3.9

Percentile: 52.71

Vendor

Vendor Severity: Moderate

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 4.3

Temporal Score: 3.4

Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2023-38546

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: Low

Base Score: 3.7

Temporal Score: 3.4

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:P/RL:O/RC:C

Vulnerability Information

Required KB Items: Host/local_checks_enabled, Host/CentOS/release, Host/CentOS/rpm-list, Host/OS/extended-third-party

Exploit Available: true

Exploit Ease: Exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 10/16/2023

Vulnerability Publication Date: 10/10/2023

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2023-38546

CLSA: 2023:1697463947