GLSA 200409-02: MySQL: Insecure temporary file creation in mysqlhotcopy

http://security.gentoo.org/

Severity:	normal
Title:	MySQL: Insecure temporary file creation in mysqlhotcopy
Date:	09/01/2004
Bugs:	#60744
ID:	200409-02

Synopsis

The mysqlhotcopy utility can create temporary files with predictable paths, allowing an attacker to use a symlink to trick MySQL into overwriting important data.

Background

MySQL is a popular open-source multi-threaded, multi-user SQL database server.

Affected packages

Package	Vulnerable	Unaffected	Architecture(s)
dev-db/mysql	<= 4.0.20	>= 4.0.20-r1	All supported architectures

Description

Jeroen van Wolffelaar discovered that the MySQL database hot copy utility (mysqlhotcopy.sh), when using the scp method, uses temporary files with predictable names. A malicious local user with write access to the /tmp directory could create a symbolic link pointing to a file, which may then be overwritten. In cases where mysqlhotcopy is run as root, a malicious user could create a symlink to a critical file such as /etc/passwd and cause it to be overwritten.

Impact

A local attacker could use this vulnerability to destroy other users' data or corrupt and destroy system files, possibly leading to a denial of service condition.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All MySQL users should upgrade to the latest version:

    # emerge sync

    # emerge -pv ">=dev-db/mysql-4.0.20-r1"
    # emerge ">=dev-db/mysql-4.0.20-r1"

References

CAN-2004-0457

Availability

This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at the Gentoo Security Website: http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200409-02.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 https://bugs.gentoo.org.