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Gentoo Linux Security Advisory                        GLSA 200411-13:01
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                                            http://security.gentoo.org/
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  Severity: Normal
     Title: Portage, Gentoolkit: Temporary file vulnerabilities
      Date: November 07, 2004
      Bugs: #68846, #69147
        ID: 200411-13:01

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Synopsis
========

dispatch-conf (included in Portage) and qpkg (included in Gentoolkit)
are vulnerable to symlink attacks, potentially allowing a local user
to overwrite arbitrary files with the rights of the user running the
script.

Background
==========

Portage is Gentoo's package management tool. The dispatch-conf utility
allows for easy rollback of configuration file changes and automatic
updates of configurations files never modified by users. Gentoolkit is
a collection of Gentoo specific administration scripts, one of which is
the portage querying tool qpkg.

Affected packages
=================

    -------------------------------------------------------------------
     Package                 /    Vulnerable    /           Unaffected
    -------------------------------------------------------------------
  1  sys-apps/portage            <= 2.0.51-r2             >= 2.0.51-r3
  2  app-portage/gentoolkit     <= 0.2.0_pre10       >= 0.2.0_pre10-r1
                                                     *>= 0.2.0_pre8-r1
    -------------------------------------------------------------------
     2 affected packages on all of their supported architectures.
    -------------------------------------------------------------------

Description
===========

dispatch-conf and qpkg use predictable filenames for 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
an affected script is called, this would result in the file to be
overwritten with the rights of the user running the dispatch-conf or
qpkg, which could be the root user.

Workaround
==========

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution
==========

All Portage users should upgrade to the latest version:

    # emerge --sync
    # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose
 ">=sys-apps/portage-2.0.51-r3"

All Gentoolkit users should upgrade to the latest version:

    # emerge --sync
    # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose
 ">=app-portage/gentoolkit-0.2.0_pre8-r1"

Availability
============

This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at
the Gentoo Security Website:

  http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200411-13.xml

Concerns?
=========

Security is a primary focus of Gentoo Linux and ensuring the
confidentiality and security of our users machines is of utmost
importance to us. Any security concerns should be addressed to
security@gentoo.org or alternatively, you may file a bug at
http://bugs.gentoo.org.

License
=======

Copyright 2004 Gentoo Foundation, Inc; referenced text
belongs to its owner(s).

The contents of this document are licensed under the
Creative Commons - Attribution / Share Alike license.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0