CVE-2001-0465 in Turbo Tax
Summary
by MITRE
TurboTax saves passwords in a temporary file when a user imports investment tax information from a financial institution, which could allow local users to obtain sensitive information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/08/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2001-0465 represents a critical security flaw in Intuit's TurboTax software that emerged during an era when digital financial services were rapidly expanding. This issue specifically affects the software's handling of sensitive user data during the import process from financial institutions, creating a significant exposure point that could be exploited by local attackers. The vulnerability stems from the application's improper management of temporary files containing authentication credentials, which violates fundamental security principles of data protection and access control. The flaw exists within the software's temporary file creation and management mechanisms, where password information is inadvertently persisted in unsecured temporary storage locations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the TurboTax application's failure to properly secure temporary files that contain user credentials during the import process. When users attempt to import investment tax information from financial institutions, the software creates temporary files that store authentication details including passwords. These temporary files are typically created with insufficient access controls and are often stored in directories with broad read permissions. The flaw manifests when local users, either malicious or inadvertently, can access these temporary files through standard file system browsing or enumeration techniques. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-200, which addresses improper exposure of sensitive information, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege in system design. The temporary file creation process lacks proper sanitization and secure file handling practices, allowing sensitive data to remain accessible to unauthorized local system users.
The operational impact of CVE-2001-0465 extends beyond immediate credential theft to encompass broader security implications for financial data protection. Local attackers with access to the system can exploit this vulnerability to obtain sensitive investment account credentials, potentially enabling unauthorized access to financial accounts and fraudulent transactions. This represents a significant risk for users who may be working on shared or compromised systems where local access is possible. The vulnerability also demonstrates poor security architecture in financial software applications, where sensitive data handling practices fall short of industry standards. The impact is particularly severe given that financial information is often targeted by cybercriminals, and the theft of investment account credentials can lead to substantial financial losses. This flaw contributes to the broader category of information disclosure vulnerabilities that are commonly exploited in attack chains leading to more sophisticated compromises.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of secure temporary file handling practices and access control measures. System administrators should ensure that temporary files created by TurboTax are stored in secure locations with restricted access permissions and are automatically deleted upon process completion. The software should be configured to use secure temporary file creation functions that automatically set appropriate file permissions and avoid storing sensitive information in persistent temporary locations. Organizations should consider implementing additional security controls such as file system monitoring and access logging to detect unauthorized access attempts to temporary files. The remediation process should include updating the software to versions that address the temporary file handling flaw, which aligns with the ATT&CK technique T1074.001 for data staging through temporary files. Security policies should be updated to include requirements for secure temporary file management, and regular security assessments should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other financial applications. Network segmentation and user access controls should be strengthened to limit local system access where possible, reducing the attack surface for such local privilege escalation vulnerabilities.