CVE-2004-1167 in Mirrorselect
Summary
by MITRE
mirrorselect before 0.89 creates temporary files in a world-writable location with predictable file names, which allows remote attackers to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/01/2021
The vulnerability described in CVE-2004-1167 affects the mirrorselect utility version 0.89 and earlier, which is commonly used in Linux distributions for selecting optimal mirrors for package downloads. This flaw represents a classic symlink attack vector that exploits predictable temporary file creation in insecure directories. The vulnerability stems from the utility's improper handling of temporary files during its operation, creating a significant security risk that can be exploited remotely by attackers.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves mirrorselect creating temporary files in world-writable directories such as /tmp with predictable naming conventions. When an attacker can control or influence the network environment where mirrorselect operates, they can establish symbolic links with the same predictable names before the utility creates its temporary files. This race condition allows the attacker to manipulate the file system in such a way that the utility writes data to locations controlled by the attacker rather than to its intended temporary file location. The flaw specifically relates to CWE-362, which describes race conditions that can lead to privilege escalation and arbitrary file overwrite scenarios.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple file overwriting capabilities, as it can potentially enable attackers to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges or compromise the integrity of the system's package management infrastructure. Since mirrorselect typically runs with elevated privileges during package installation processes, successful exploitation could allow an attacker to inject malicious code into critical system components or configuration files. This vulnerability particularly affects systems where users have network access or can influence the mirror selection process, making it a significant concern for enterprise environments and systems that automatically select package mirrors without proper security controls.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patching of affected mirrorselect versions to 0.89 or later, where the temporary file handling has been corrected. System administrators should also implement proper file system permissions and ensure that temporary directories are not world-writable. Additional protective measures include implementing proper symlink attack detection mechanisms, using secure temporary file creation methods that avoid predictable naming, and ensuring that package management utilities operate with minimal necessary privileges. Organizations should also consider implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit potential attack vectors that could lead to exploitation of this type of vulnerability. The remediation process aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for execution through scripting and T1548.001 for privilege escalation, emphasizing the need for comprehensive system hardening approaches.