[ GLSA 200407-01 ] Esearch: Insecure temp file handling

[GLSA]

Gentoo Linux Security Advisory

Title: Esearch: Insecure temp file handling (GLSA 200407-01)
Severity: normal
Exploitable: local
Date: July 01, 2004
Updated: May 22, 2006
Bug(s): #55424
ID: 200407-01

Synopsis


The eupdatedb utility in esearch creates a file in /tmp without first
checking for symlinks. This makes it possible for any user to create
arbitrary files.


Background


Esearch is a replacement for the Portage command "emerge search". It
uses an index to speed up searching of the Portage tree.


Affected Packages

Package: app-portage/esearch
Vulnerable: <= 0.6.1
Unaffected: >= 0.6.2
Architectures: All supported architectures


Description


The eupdatedb utility uses a temporary file (/tmp/esearchdb.py.tmp) to
indicate that the eupdatedb process is running. When run, eupdatedb
checks to see if this file exists, but it does not check to see if it
is a broken symlink. In the event that the file is a broken symlink,
the script will create the file pointed to by the symlink, instead of
printing an error and exiting.


Impact


An attacker could create a symlink from /tmp/esearchdb.py.tmp to a
nonexistent file (such as /etc/nologin), and the file will be created
the next time esearchdb is run.


Workaround


There is no known workaround at this time. All users should upgrade to
the latest available version of esearch.


Resolution


All users should upgrade to the latest available version of esearch, as
follows: