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Vulnerability DatabaseCVE-2009-1142

CVE-2009-1142: 
Linux Debian vulnerability analysis and mitigation

Overview

An issue was discovered in open-vm-tools version 2009.03.18-154848 that affects local system security. The vulnerability allows local users to gain elevated privileges through a symlink attack on /tmp files when vmware-user-suid-wrapper is setuid root and the ChmodChownDirectory function is enabled (NVD, Gentoo Bug).

Technical details

The vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2009-1142 and has been assigned a CVSS v3.1 Base Score of 6.7 (MEDIUM) with the vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. The issue specifically involves the ChmodChownDirectory function when enabled through the TOGGLE_VMBLOCK define, allowing for privilege escalation through symlink manipulation (NVD).

Impact

When exploited, this vulnerability allows local users to chown root:root arbitrary directories and modify permissions to 777, effectively gaining elevated privileges on the system (Gentoo Bug).

Mitigation and workarounds

The vulnerability was addressed by removing the ChmodChownDirectory function from the codebase several years after discovery. All versions currently in the Gentoo repository no longer include this vulnerable function (Gentoo Bug).

Additional resources

Source: This report was generated using AI

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