Vulnerabilities > CVE-2008-5743 - Link Following vulnerability in Pdfjam NIL

047910
CVSS 6.9 - MEDIUM
Attack vector
LOCAL
Attack complexity
MEDIUM
Privileges required
NONE
Confidentiality impact
COMPLETE
Integrity impact
COMPLETE
Availability impact
COMPLETE
local
pdfjam
CWE-59
nessus

Summary

pdfjam creates the (1) pdf90, (2) pdfjoin, and (3) pdfnup files with a predictable name, which allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack.

Vulnerable Configurations

Part Description Count
Application
Pdfjam
1

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

  • Symlink Attack
    An attacker positions a symbolic link in such a manner that the targeted user or application accesses the link's endpoint, assuming that it is accessing a file with the link's name. The endpoint file may be either output or input. If the file is output, the result is that the endpoint is modified, instead of a file at the intended location. Modifications to the endpoint file may include appending, overwriting, corrupting, changing permissions, or other modifications. In some variants of this attack the attacker may be able to control the change to a file while in other cases they cannot. The former is especially damaging since the attacker may be able to grant themselves increased privileges or insert false information, but the latter can also be damaging as it can expose sensitive information or corrupt or destroy vital system or application files. Alternatively, the endpoint file may serve as input to the targeted application. This can be used to feed malformed input into the target or to cause the target to process different information, possibly allowing the attacker to control the actions of the target or to cause the target to expose information to the attacker. Moreover, the actions taken on the endpoint file are undertaken with the permissions of the targeted user or application, which may exceed the permissions that the attacker would normally have.
  • Accessing, Modifying or Executing Executable Files
    An attack of this type exploits a system's configuration that allows an attacker to either directly access an executable file, for example through shell access; or in a possible worst case allows an attacker to upload a file and then execute it. Web servers, ftp servers, and message oriented middleware systems which have many integration points are particularly vulnerable, because both the programmers and the administrators must be in synch regarding the interfaces and the correct privileges for each interface.
  • Leverage Executable Code in Non-Executable Files
    An attack of this type exploits a system's trust in configuration and resource files, when the executable loads the resource (such as an image file or configuration file) the attacker has modified the file to either execute malicious code directly or manipulate the target process (e.g. application server) to execute based on the malicious configuration parameters. Since systems are increasingly interrelated mashing up resources from local and remote sources the possibility of this attack occurring is high. The attack can be directed at a client system, such as causing buffer overrun through loading seemingly benign image files, as in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS04-028 where specially crafted JPEG files could cause a buffer overrun once loaded into the browser. Another example targets clients reading pdf files. In this case the attacker simply appends javascript to the end of a legitimate url for a pdf (http://www.gnucitizen.org/blog/danger-danger-danger/) http://path/to/pdf/file.pdf#whatever_name_you_want=javascript:your_code_here The client assumes that they are reading a pdf, but the attacker has modified the resource and loaded executable javascript into the client's browser process. The attack can also target server processes. The attacker edits the resource or configuration file, for example a web.xml file used to configure security permissions for a J2EE app server, adding role name "public" grants all users with the public role the ability to use the administration functionality. The server trusts its configuration file to be correct, but when they are manipulated, the attacker gains full control.
  • Manipulating Input to File System Calls
    An attacker manipulates inputs to the target software which the target software passes to file system calls in the OS. The goal is to gain access to, and perhaps modify, areas of the file system that the target software did not intend to be accessible.

Nessus

  • NASL familyFedora Local Security Checks
    NASL idFEDORA_2009-2655.NASL
    descriptionPDFjam scripts previously create temporary files with predictable names, and are also susceptible to the search path being modified. This update fixes the two issues. Note that Tenable Network Security has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Fedora security advisory. Tenable has attempted to automatically clean and format it as much as possible without introducing additional issues.
    last seen2020-06-01
    modified2020-06-02
    plugin id35927
    published2009-03-16
    reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2009-2019 Tenable Network Security, Inc.
    sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/35927
    titleFedora 9 : pdfjam-1.21-1.fc9 (2009-2655)
  • NASL familyGentoo Local Security Checks
    NASL idGENTOO_GLSA-200903-05.NASL
    descriptionThe remote host is affected by the vulnerability described in GLSA-200903-05 (PDFjam: Multiple vulnerabilities) Martin Vaeth reported multiple untrusted search path vulnerabilities (CVE-2008-5843). Marcus Meissner of the SUSE Security Team reported that temporary files are created with a predictable name (CVE-2008-5743). Impact : A local attacker could place a specially crafted Python module in the current working directory or the /var/tmp directory, and entice a user to run the PDFjam scripts, leading to the execution of arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running the application. A local attacker could also leverage symlink attacks to overwrite arbitrary files. Workaround : There is no known workaround at this time.
    last seen2020-06-01
    modified2020-06-02
    plugin id35795
    published2009-03-08
    reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2009-2019 Tenable Network Security, Inc.
    sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/35795
    titleGLSA-200903-05 : PDFjam: Multiple vulnerabilities
  • NASL familyFedora Local Security Checks
    NASL idFEDORA_2009-2651.NASL
    descriptionPDFjam scripts previously create temporary files with predictable names, and are also susceptible to the search path being modified. This update fixes the two issues. Note that Tenable Network Security has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Fedora security advisory. Tenable has attempted to automatically clean and format it as much as possible without introducing additional issues.
    last seen2020-06-01
    modified2020-06-02
    plugin id36287
    published2009-04-23
    reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2009-2019 Tenable Network Security, Inc.
    sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/36287
    titleFedora 10 : pdfjam-1.21-1.fc10 (2009-2651)
  • NASL familyFreeBSD Local Security Checks
    NASL idFREEBSD_PKG_A02C9595E01811DDA7650030843D3802.NASL
    descriptionSecunia reports : Some security issues have been reported in PDFjam, which can be exploited by malicious, local users to perform certain actions with escalated privileges. The security issues are caused due to the
    last seen2020-06-01
    modified2020-06-02
    plugin id35340
    published2009-01-12
    reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2009-2019 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof.
    sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/35340
    titleFreeBSD : pdfjam -- insecure temporary files (a02c9595-e018-11dd-a765-0030843d3802)