Title: Debian man-db Executable Overwrite Vulnerability
Severity: MODERATE
Description:
man-db is the Debian package used to display on-line help files.
Affected versions of this utility improperly set write permissions in manual page directories. The settings provide write access to the directories in which man creates a temporary database. However, they also render it possible for the invoking 'man' user to overwrite the mandb binary itself, potentially replacing it with malicious code.
Since mandb assumes the privilege level of the user running it, the possibility of a user replacing the program with a hostile binary prior to its execution by a privileged user (including root) has serious security implications for the vulnerable host.
Affected Products:
- Debian Linux 2.2.0
- Progeny Debian 1.0.0
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