CVE-2002-1713 in Mandrake Linux
Summary
by MITRE
The Standard security setting for Mandrake-Security package (msec) in Mandrake 8.2 installs home directories with world-readable permissions, which could allow local users to read other user s files.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/18/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-1713 represents a critical misconfiguration issue within the Mandrake-Security package version distributed with Mandrake Linux 8.2. This flaw specifically affects the standard security settings implemented by the msec package, which is responsible for managing security configurations across the system. The issue stems from improper permission assignments during the installation process, where home directories are created with world-readable permissions instead of the more secure user-only access controls. This fundamental security misconfiguration creates an exploitable condition that directly violates basic security principles of least privilege and access control.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs at the filesystem permission level where the msec package fails to properly set directory permissions during the security configuration process. When home directories are created with world-readable permissions, any local user on the system can access files within other users' home directories without authentication. This represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege and provides unauthorized access to potentially sensitive user data including configuration files, personal documents, and authentication-related information. The flaw exists at the operating system level rather than being an application-specific vulnerability, making it particularly concerning as it affects the fundamental security posture of the entire system.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risks for system integrity and user privacy. Local users can exploit this condition to read confidential information belonging to other users, potentially including passwords stored in configuration files, personal correspondence, financial records, or proprietary business data. The attack vector is straightforward requiring only local system access and no network connectivity, making it particularly dangerous in multi-user environments where users may share common systems or servers. This vulnerability essentially undermines the confidentiality controls that should protect user data, creating a persistent threat that remains active as long as the system runs with the vulnerable configuration.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-732, which describes improper restriction of operations within a security domain, and represents a classic case of inadequate access control implementation. From an adversary perspective, this flaw maps to ATT&CK technique T1005 (Data from Local System) and T1087 (Account Discovery) as attackers can leverage this condition to gather information about other users and their system access patterns. The remediation approach requires immediate reconfiguration of the msec package settings to ensure proper permission assignments for home directories, typically involving setting appropriate umask values and ensuring that security configuration scripts properly implement restrictive permissions. System administrators should also conduct comprehensive audits of existing home directory permissions to identify any previously compromised access conditions and implement automated monitoring to prevent future occurrences of similar misconfigurations.