[ GLSA 200412-04 ] Perl: Insecure temporary file creation

[GLSA]

Gentoo Linux Security Advisory

Title: Perl: Insecure temporary file creation (GLSA 200412-04)
Severity: normal
Exploitable: local
Date: December 07, 2004
Bug(s): #66360
ID: 200412-04

Synopsis


Perl is vulnerable to symlink attacks, potentially allowing a local user to
overwrite arbitrary files.


Background


Perl is a stable, cross-platform programming language created by
Larry Wall.


Affected Packages

Package: dev-lang/perl
Vulnerable: < 5.8.5-r2
Vulnerable: = 5.8.6
Unaffected: >= 5.8.5-r2 < 5.8.6
Unaffected: >= 5.8.6-r1
Architectures: All supported architectures


Description


Some Perl modules create temporary files in world-writable
directories with predictable names.


Impact


A local attacker could create symbolic links in the temporary
files directory, pointing to a valid file somewhere on the filesystem.
When a Perl script 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 Perl users should upgrade to the latest version: