[ GLSA 200411-17 ] mtink: Insecure tempfile handling

GLSA · Last edited by GLSA on Tue May 23, 2006 4:18 am; edited 2 times in total

Gentoo Linux Security Advisory

Title: mtink: Insecure tempfile handling (GLSA 200411-17)
Severity: normal
Exploitable: local
Date: November 09, 2004
Updated: May 22, 2006
Bug(s): #70310
ID: 200411-17

Synopsis

mtink is vulnerable to symlink attacks, potentially allowing a local user to overwrite arbitrary files with the rights of the user running the utility.

Background

mtink is a status monitor and inkjet cartridge changer for some Epson printers.

Affected Packages

Package: net-print/mtink
Vulnerable: < 1.0.5
Unaffected: >= 1.0.5
Architectures: All supported architectures

Description

Tavis Ormandy from Gentoo Linux discovered that mtink uses insecure permissions on temporary files.

Impact

A local attacker could create symbolic links in the temporary files directory, pointing to a valid file somewhere on the filesystem. When mtink is executed, this would result in the file being overwritten with the rights of the user running the utility, which could be the root user.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All mtink users should upgrade to the latest version: