#VU10333 Privilege escalation in PHP - CVE-2014-5459

Vulnerability identifier: #VU10333

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 5.9 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2014-5459

CWE-ID: CWE-61

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
PHP
Universal components / Libraries / Scripting languages

Vendor: PHP Group

Description
The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to incorrect processing of symbolic links within the PEAR_REST class in REST.php in PEAR. A local user can create a specially crafted symlink and write arbitrary files into /tmp/pear/cache/directory.

Mitigation
Update to version 5.6.1.

Vulnerable software versions

PHP: 5.0.0 - 5.0.5, 5.1.0 - 5.1.6, 5.2.0 - 5.2.17, 5.3.0 - 5.3.27, 5.4.0 - 5.4.44, 5.5.0 - 5.5.38, 5.6.0

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External links
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2014/08/27/3

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

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