Remote code execution in Emacs

1) Use of Potentially Dangerous Function

EUVDB-ID: #VU93118

Risk: High

CVSSv4.0: 5.7 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Amber]

CVE-ID: CVE-2024-39331

CWE-ID: CWE-676 - Use of Potentially Dangerous Function

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to compromise the affected system.

The vulnerability exists due to org-link-expand-abbrev in lisp/ol.el expands a %(...) link abbrev even when it specifies an unsafe function. A remote attacker can execute arbitrary OS commands on the system.

Mitigation

Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Emacs: 18.59 - 29.3

CPE2.3

• cpe:2.3:a:gnu:emacs:18.59:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:gnu:emacs:19.34:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:gnu:emacs:20.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

External links

https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/emacs.git/tree/etc/NEWS?h=emacs-29
https://list.orgmode.org/87sex5gdqc.fsf%40localhost/
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/info-gnu-emacs/2024-06/msg00000.html
https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/emacs/org-mode.git/commit/?id=f4cc61636947b5c2f0afc67174dd369fe3277aa8
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/06/23/1
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/06/23/2
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40768225

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

How the attacker can exploit this vulnerability?

The attacker would have to trick the victim to visit a specially crafted website or open a file.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.