Gentoo alert: GNU Automake symbolic link vulnerability

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Gentoo Linux Security Advisory                           GLSA 200404-08
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                                             http://security.gentoo.org
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  Severity: High
     Title: GNU Automake symbolic link vulnerability

      Date: April 08, 2004
      Bugs: #45646
        ID: 200404-08

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Synopsis
========

Automake may be vulnerable to a symbolic link attack which may allow an
attacker to modify data or elevate their privileges.

Background
==========

Automake is a tool for automatically generating 'Makefile.in' files
which is often used in conjuction with Autoconf and other GNU Autotools
to ease portability among applications. It also provides a standardized
and light way of writing complex Makefiles through the use of many
built-in macros.

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

    -------------------------------------------------------------------
     Package             /   Vulnerable   /                 Unaffected
    -------------------------------------------------------------------
     sys-devel/automake        < 1.8.3                        >= 1.8.3

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

Automake may be vulnerable to a symbolic link attack which may allow an
attacker to modify data or escalate their privileges. This is due to
the insecure way Automake creates directories during compilation. An
attacker may be able to create symbolic links in the place of files
contained in the affected directories, which may potentially lead to
elevated privileges due to modification of data.

Impact
======

An attacker may be able to use this vulnerability to modify data in an
unauthorized fashion or elevate their privileges.

Workaround
==========

A workaround is not currently known for this issue. All users are
advised to upgrade to the latest version of the affected package.

Resolution
==========

Automake users should upgrade to version 1.8.3 or later:

    # emerge sync

    # emerge -pv ">=sys-devel/automake-1.8.3"
    # emerge ">=sys-devel/automake-1.8.3"

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
[e-mail:security@gentoo.org] or alternatively, you may file a bug at
http://bugs.gentoo.org.