CVE-2020-8017 : Vulnerability Insights and Analysis

A Race Condition Enabling Link Following vulnerability in the cron job shipped with texlive-filesystem of SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15-SP1, SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12-SP4, SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12-SP5; openSUSE Leap 15.1 allows local users in group mktex to delete arbitrary files on the system.

Understanding CVE-2020-8017

This CVE identifies a race condition vulnerability in texlive-filesystem that could be exploited by local users to delete unintended files on affected systems.

What is CVE-2020-8017?

A race condition vulnerability in the texlive-filesystem cron job of various SUSE and openSUSE Linux distributions allows local users to delete arbitrary files on the system.

The Impact of CVE-2020-8017

The vulnerability could be exploited by malicious users to delete critical files, leading to potential data loss or system instability.

Technical Details of CVE-2020-8017

This section provides detailed technical information about the CVE.

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability arises due to a race condition in the texlive-filesystem cron job, enabling local users to delete unintended files on the system.

Affected Systems and Versions

SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15-SP1: texlive-filesystem versions prior to 2017.135-9.5.1
SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12-SP4: texlive-filesystem versions prior to 2013.74-16.5.1
SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12-SP5: texlive-filesystem versions prior to 2013.74-16.5.1
openSUSE Leap 15.1: texlive-filesystem versions prior to 2017.135-lp151.8.3.1

Exploitation Mechanism

The vulnerability can be exploited by local users in the 'mktex' group to delete arbitrary files on the system.

Mitigation and Prevention

Protect your systems from CVE-2020-8017 with the following measures:

Immediate Steps to Take

Apply the recommended patches provided by the respective vendors.
Restrict access to the texlive-filesystem cron job to authorized users only.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly monitor and audit cron jobs and file system activities.
Educate users on best practices for file system security and permissions.
Implement least privilege access controls to limit user capabilities.

Patching and Updates

Ensure that affected systems are updated with the latest patches and versions of texlive-filesystem to mitigate the vulnerability.