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Gentoo Linux Security Advisory                           GLSA 200511-19
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                                            http://security.gentoo.org/
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  Severity: Normal
     Title: eix: Insecure temporary file creation
      Date: November 22, 2005
      Bugs: #112061
        ID: 200511-19

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Synopsis
========

eix has an insecure temporary file creation vulnerability, potentially
allowing a local user to overwrite arbitrary files.

Background
==========

eix is a small utility for searching ebuilds with indexing for fast
results.

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

    -------------------------------------------------------------------
     Package          /   Vulnerable   /                    Unaffected
    -------------------------------------------------------------------
  1  app-portage/eix     < 0.5.0_pre2                    >= 0.5.0_pre2
                                                          *>= 0.3.0-r2

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

Eric Romang discovered that eix creates a temporary file with a
predictable name. eix creates a temporary file in /tmp/eix.*.sync where
* is the process ID of the shell running eix.

Impact
======

A local attacker can watch the process list and determine the process
ID of the shell running eix while the "emerge --sync" command is
running, then create a link from the corresponding temporary file to a
system file, which would result in the file being overwritten with the
rights of the user running the application.

Workaround
==========

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution
==========

All eix users should upgrade to the latest version:

    # emerge --sync
    # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose app-portage/eix

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

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

  http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200511-19.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 2005 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/2.0