CVE-2018-6954

Advisory lineage Upstream: 0 Downstream: 8
Modified
Published: 13 Feb 2018, 20:00
Last modified:09 Jun 2025, 15:54

Vulnerability Summary

Overall Risk (default)
medium
41/100
CVSS Score
7.8 HIGH
v3.1 (cve.org)
EPSS Score
0.14% LOW
0% probability +0.04%
KEV
Not listed
Ransomware
No reports
Public exploits
1 found
Dark Web
Not detected

Timeline

13 Feb 2018, 20:00
Published
Vulnerability first disclosed
09 Jun 2025, 15:54
Last Modified
Vulnerability information updated

Description

systemd-tmpfiles in systemd through 237 mishandles symlinks present in non-terminal path components, which allows local users to obtain ownership of arbitrary files via vectors involving creation of a directory and a file under that directory, and later replacing that directory with a symlink. This occurs even if the fs.protected_symlinks sysctl is turned on.

CVSS Metrics

  • v3.1•HIGH•Score: 7.8CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
  • v2.0•HIGH•Score: 7.2AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

EPSS Trends

Current EPSS score: 0.14%• Percentile: 35%

Techniques & Countermeasures

  • CWE-59•Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

    The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.

Affected Systems

  • canonical•ubuntu_linux

    16.04 | 18.04 | 18.10

  • opensuse•leap

    42.3

  • systemd_project•systemd

    ≤ 237

References (6)