[ GLSA 200809-13 ] R: Insecure temporary file creation

[GLSA]

Gentoo Linux Security Advisory

Title: R: Insecure temporary file creation (GLSA 200809-13)
Severity: normal
Exploitable: local
Date: September 22, 2008
Bug(s): #235822
ID: 200809-13

Synopsis

R is vulnerable to symlink attacks due to an insecure usage of temporary files.

Background

R is a GPL licensed implementation of S, a language and environment for statistical computing and graphics.

Affected Packages

Package: dev-lang/R
Vulnerable: < 2.7.1
Unaffected: >= 2.7.1
Architectures: All supported architectures


Description

Dmitry E. Oboukhov reported that the "javareconf" script uses temporary files in an insecure manner.

Impact

A local attacker could exploit this vulnerability to overwrite arbitrary files with the privileges of the user running the application.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All R users should upgrade to the latest version: