Vulnerability identifier: #VU33153

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv3.1: 4.1 [CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2017-18018

CWE-ID: CWE-362

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
coreutils
Other software / Other software solutions

Vendor: GNU

Description

The vulnerability allows a local authenticated user to manipulate data.

In GNU Coreutils through 8.29, chown-core.c in chown and chgrp does not prevent replacement of a plain file with a symlink during use of the POSIX "-R -L" options, which allows local users to modify the ownership of arbitrary files by leveraging a race condition.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

coreutils: 8.1

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External links
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/coreutils/2017-12/msg00045.html

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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.