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Gentoo Linux Security Advisory                           GLSA 200407-01
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                                            http://security.gentoo.org/
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  Severity: Normal
     Title: Esearch: Insecure temp file handling
      Date: July 01, 2004
      Bugs: #55424
        ID: 200407-01

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Synopsis
========

The eupdatedb utility in esearch creates a file in /tmp without first
checking for symlinks. This makes it possible for any user to create
arbitrary files.

Background
==========

Esearch is a replacement for the Portage command "emerge search". It
uses an index to speed up searching of the Portage tree.

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

    -------------------------------------------------------------------
     Package              /   Vulnerable   /                Unaffected
    -------------------------------------------------------------------
  1  app-portage/esearch       <= 0.6.1                       >= 0.6.2

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

The eupdatedb utility uses a temporary file (/tmp/esearchdb.py.tmp) to
indicate that the eupdatedb process is running. When run, eupdatedb
checks to see if this file exists, but it does not check to see if it
is a broken symlink. In the event that the file is a broken symlink,
the script will create the file pointed to by the symlink, instead of
printing an error and exiting.

Impact
======

An attacker could create a symlink from /tmp/esearchdb.py.tmp to a
nonexistent file (such as /etc/nologin), and the file will be created
the next time esearchdb is run.

Workaround
==========

There is no known workaround at this time. All users should upgrade to
the latest available version of esearch.

Resolution
==========

All users should upgrade to the latest available version of esearch, as
follows:

    # emerge sync

    # emerge -pv ">=app-portage/esearch-0.6.2"
    # emerge ">=app-portage/esearch-0.6.2"

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

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

     http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200407-01.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 Technologies, 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