Vulnerabilities > CVE-2019-12761 - Code Injection vulnerability in Python Pyxdg 0.25
Attack vector
NETWORK Attack complexity
HIGH Privileges required
NONE Confidentiality impact
PARTIAL Integrity impact
PARTIAL Availability impact
PARTIAL Summary
A code injection issue was discovered in PyXDG before 0.26 via crafted Python code in a Category element of a Menu XML document in a .menu file. XDG_CONFIG_DIRS must be set up to trigger xdg.Menu.parse parsing within the directory containing this file. This is due to a lack of sanitization in xdg/Menu.py before an eval call.
Vulnerable Configurations
| Part | Description | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Application | 1 |
Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
- 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 User-Controlled Variables This attack targets user controlled variables (DEBUG=1, PHP Globals, and So Forth). An attacker can override environment variables leveraging user-supplied, untrusted query variables directly used on the application server without any data sanitization. In extreme cases, the attacker can change variables controlling the business logic of the application. For instance, in languages like PHP, a number of poorly set default configurations may allow the user to override variables.
Nessus
| NASL family | Debian Local Security Checks |
| NASL id | DEBIAN_DLA-1819.NASL |
| description | It was discovered that there was a code injection issue in PyXDG, a library used to locate |
| last seen | 2020-06-01 |
| modified | 2020-06-02 |
| plugin id | 125927 |
| published | 2019-06-17 |
| reporter | This script is Copyright (C) 2019-2020 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof. |
| source | https://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/125927 |
| title | Debian DLA-1819-1 : pyxdg security update |
| code | |