CVE-2013-4451 in gitolite
Summary
by MITRE
gitolite commit fa06a34 through 3.5.3 might allow attackers to have unspecified impact via vectors involving world-writable permissions when creating (1) ~/.gitolite.rc, (2) ~/.gitolite, or (3) ~/repositories/gitolite-admin.git on fresh installs.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/17/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-4451 affects gitolite versions ranging from commit fa06a34 through 3.5.3 and represents a critical security flaw related to improper permission handling during fresh installations. This vulnerability arises from the software's failure to properly secure sensitive configuration files and directories during initial setup, creating potential attack vectors that could lead to unspecified but potentially severe consequences for affected systems.
The technical flaw manifests when gitolite creates essential configuration files and directories on fresh installations, specifically targeting three critical locations: ~/.gitolite.rc, ~/.gitolite, and ~/repositories/gitolite-admin.git. During the installation process, these files and directories are created with world-writable permissions, which violates fundamental security principles and creates opportunities for privilege escalation attacks. This misconfiguration allows any local user on the system to modify critical configuration files, potentially compromising the entire gitolite deployment and the repositories it manages.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple permission issues, as it creates a persistent security risk that can be exploited by both local and potentially remote attackers. When world-writable permissions are established for configuration files, attackers can modify gitolite's behavior to redirect repository access, alter access controls, or even inject malicious code into the gitolite administration system. The unspecified impact mentioned in the CVE description suggests that the consequences could range from unauthorized repository access to complete system compromise, depending on how attackers choose to exploit the misconfigured permissions. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and creates opportunities for attackers to escalate their privileges within the gitolite environment.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-732: Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource and falls under the ATT&CK technique T1068: Exploitation for Privilege Escalation. The flaw represents a classic case of insecure default permissions that can be exploited to gain unauthorized access to sensitive system resources. Organizations using gitolite versions affected by this vulnerability face significant risk of unauthorized code deployment, data theft, or complete compromise of their version control infrastructure. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects fresh installations where administrators may not immediately notice the misconfigured permissions, allowing attackers to establish persistent access to the system's git repositories.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2013-4451 require immediate attention and include updating to gitolite version 3.5.4 or later, which addresses the permission handling issue. System administrators should also manually verify and correct the permissions on the affected files and directories, ensuring that they are owned by the appropriate user and have restrictive permissions. Additionally, organizations should implement automated monitoring to detect any unauthorized changes to critical gitolite configuration files and establish proper access controls for all system resources. Regular security audits of configuration file permissions should become part of standard security practices to prevent similar issues from arising in other software components. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper permission management during software installation processes and serves as a reminder that even seemingly minor configuration issues can create significant security risks in version control systems.