GHSA-4284-jfhc-f854 CVE-2018-12615
Phusion Passenger incorrect permission assignment
Medium
RubyGems
- Severity
- 5.3 / 10
- Medium · CVSS 3.0
- Exploit chance (EPSS)
- 1.18%
- Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Higher than 67.68% of scored vulnerabilities.
- Known exploited
- No
- Not in CISA's catalog
- Weakness
- CWE-732 Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
- Fix
5.3.2- Upgrade passenger to this version or later
Description
An issue was discovered in switchGroup() in agent/ExecHelper/ExecHelperMain.cpp in Phusion Passenger before 5.3.2. The set of groups (gidset) is not set correctly, leaving it up to randomness (i.e., uninitialized memory) which supplementary groups are actually being set while lowering privileges.
Affected versions
RubyGems
| Package | Vulnerable | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| passenger | < 5.3.2 |
5.3.2 |
How to fix
Move to the fixed version or later with your package manager, update the lockfile, and run your tests. If the package only arrives through another dependency, upgrade that dependency first. If none of its releases pulls a fixed version yet, force the version with your package manager's override.
passenger RubyGems → 5.3.2
- bundler
bundle update passenger # Gemfile: gem "passenger", ">= 5.3.2"
Severity breakdown
CVSS 3.0 5.3
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
Weakness
CWE-732: Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
The product specifies permissions for a security-critical resource in a way that allows that resource to be read or modified by unintended actors.
How to prevent it
- Implementation: When using a critical resource such as a configuration file, check to see if the resource has insecure permissions (such as being modifiable by any regular user) [REF-62], and generate an error or even exit the software if there is a possibility that the resource could have been modified by an unauthorized party.
- Architecture and Design: Divide the software into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully defining distinct user groups, privileges, and/or roles. Map these against data, functionality, and the related resources. Then set the permissions accordingly. This will allow you to maintain more fine-grained control over your resources. [REF-207]
- Architecture and Design, Operation: Run the code in a "jail" or similar sandbox environment that enforces strict boundaries between the process and the operating system. This may effectively restrict which files can be accessed in a particular directory or which commands can be executed by the software. OS-level examples include the Unix chroot jail, AppArmor, and SELinux. In general, managed code may provide some protection. For example, java.io.FilePermission in the Java SecurityManager allows the software to specify restrictions on file operations. This may not be a feasible solution, and it only limits the impact to the operating system; the rest of the application may still be subject to compromise. Be careful to avoid CWE-243 and other weaknesses related to jails.
- Implementation, Installation: During program startup, explicitly set the default permissions or umask to the most restrictive setting possible. Also set the appropriate permissions during program installation. This will prevent you from inheriting insecure permissions from any user who installs or runs the program.
- System Configuration: For all configuration files, executables, and libraries, make sure that they are only readable and writable by the software's administrator.
- Documentation: Do not suggest insecure configuration changes in documentation, especially if those configurations can extend to resources and other programs that are outside the scope of the application.
- Installation: Do not assume that a system administrator will manually change the configuration to the settings that are recommended in the software's manual.
- Operation, System Configuration: Ensure that the software runs properly under the United States Government Configuration Baseline (USGCB) [REF-199] or an equivalent hardening configuration guide, which many organizations use to limit the attack surface and potential risk of deployed software.
- Implementation, System Configuration, Operation: When storing data in the cloud (e.g., S3 buckets, Azure blobs, Google Cloud Storage, etc.), use the provider's controls to disable public access.
References
Advisories
Packages
Other links
Timeline
- Published
- Last updated by the source
- Latest EPSS score
Related advisories
| Advisory | Severity | Why it's related |
|---|---|---|
| GHSA-2cj2-qqxj-5m3r Phusion Passenger denial of service | High | Also affects passenger |
| GHSA-jjcj-fgfm-9g9r Phusion Passenger Race Condition Allows Privilege Escalation | High | Also affects passenger |
| GHSA-7cv3-gvmc-8mq5 Phusion Passenger SpawningKit Contains Arbitrary Read/Write Vulnerability | Critical | Also affects passenger |
| GHSA-whfx-877c-5p28 Insecure Permissions in Phusion Passenger | High | Also affects passenger |
| GHSA-jjhj-8gx7-x836 Incorrect Access Control in Phusion Passenger | High | Also affects passenger |
| GHSA-cv3f-px9r-54hm Phusion Passenger information disclosure | Medium | Also affects passenger |
| GHSA-8mw8-j583-vqfg RubyGems passenger gem allows remote attackers to delete files | High | Also affects passenger |
| GHSA-qw8w-2xcp-xg59 Insecure use of temporary files in Phusion passenger | Low | Also affects passenger |
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