VDB-15466 · CVE-2000-0270 · BID 1125

GNU Emacs up to 20.6 Lisp make-temp-name symlink

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
4.9	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability labeled as problematic has been found in GNU Emacs up to 20.6. Affected by this vulnerability is the function make-temp-name of the component Lisp Handler. Executing a manipulation can lead to symlink. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2000-0270. There is not any exploit available. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in GNU Emacs up to 20.6 (Word Processing Software) and classified as problematic. This vulnerability affects the function make-temp-name of the component Lisp Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a symlink vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-61. The product, when opening a file or directory, does not sufficiently account for when the file is a symbolic link that resolves to a target outside of the intended control sphere. This could allow an attacker to cause the product to operate on unauthorized files. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, and integrity. CVE summarizes:

The make-temp-name Lisp function in Emacs 20 creates temporary files with predictable names, which allows attackers to conduct a symlink attack.

The weakness was released 04/18/2000 with US-CERT (Website). The advisory is available at securityfocus.com. This vulnerability was named CVE-2000-0270. The exploitation appears to be easy. Local access is required to approach this attack. No form of authentication is required for a successful exploitation. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit.

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at SecurityFocus (BID 1125†). Entries connected to this vulnerability are available at VDB-15465 and VDB-15467. If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

Productinfo

Type

Word Processing Software

Vendor

Name

Emacs

Version

License

open-source

Website

Vendor: https://www.gnu.org/

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.1
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.9

VulDB Base Score: 5.1
VulDB Temp Score: 4.9
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
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💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
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Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Symlink
CWE: CWE-61 / CWE-59
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍

Timelineinfo

04/18/2000 🔍
04/18/2000 +0 days 🔍
04/18/2000 +0 days 🔍
06/24/2014 +5180 days 🔍
04/21/2026 +4319 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: gnu.org

Advisory: securityfocus.com⛔
Organization: US-CERT
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2000-0270 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2000-0270
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-15466
SecurityFocus: 1125 - GNU Emacs Local Eavesdropping Vulnerabilities

See also: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 06/24/2014 11:37
Updated: 04/21/2026 05:09
Changes: 06/24/2014 11:37 (51), 05/24/2018 18:17 (4), 04/21/2026 05:09 (18)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.