Gentoo Linux Security Advisory GLSA 200404-08
Severity: High
Title: GNU Automake symbolic link vulnerability
Date: April 08, 2004
Bugs: #45646
ID: 200404-08
Synopsis
Automake may be vulnerable to a symbolic link attack which may
allow an attacker to modify data or elevate their privileges.
Background
Automake is a tool for automatically generating `Makefile.in’
files which is often used in conjuction with Autoconf and other GNU
Autotools to ease portability among applications. It also provides
a standardized and light way of writing complex Makefiles through
the use of many built-in macros.
Affected packages
Package / Vulnerable / Unaffected
sys-devel/automake / < 1.8.3 / >= 1.8.3
Description
Automake may be vulnerable to a symbolic link attack which may
allow an attacker to modify data or escalate their privileges. This
is due to the insecure way Automake creates directories during
compilation. An attacker may be able to create symbolic links in
the place of files contained in the affected directories, which may
potentially lead to elevated privileges due to modification of
data.
Impact
An attacker may be able to use this vulnerability to modify data
in an unauthorized fashion or elevate their privileges.
Workaround
A workaround is not currently known for this issue. All users
are advised to upgrade to the latest version of the affected
package.
Resolution
Automake users should upgrade to version 1.8.3 or later:
# emerge sync
# emerge -pv ">=sys-devel/automake-1.8.3"
# emerge ">=sys-devel/automake-1.8.3"
Concerns?
Security is a primary focus of Gentoo Linux and ensuring the
confidentiality and security of our users machines is of utmost
importance to us. Any security concerns should be addressed to
security@gentoo.org or
alternatively, you may file a bug at http://bugs.gentoo.org.