Title: Netscape 6 Temp File Symbolic Link Vulnerability
Severity: MODERATE
Description:
Netscape 6 is a freely available web browser distributed by Netscape Communications.
A problem in the web browser makes it possible for local users to overwrite arbitrary files. This could lead to denial of service. The problem is in the handling of symbolic links by the Netscape 6 package when installed on Solaris systems.
When installed, Netscape usually must be installed by the system administrator as the superuser. When the installation is initiated, files are created in the /tmp directory using the admin prefix and pid as the file extension. An example would be "admin.6565," where admin is the prefix, and 6565 is the process id.
This makes it possible for a local user to guess a range of process id's, and create symbolic links to system files. Upon the installation of Netscape 6, the program will attempt to create the temporary file, overwriting the file at the end of the symbolic link.
It is unknown whether this affects other UNIX platforms.
Affected Products:
- Netscape Communicator 6.01a
References:
- Larry W. Cashdollar <lwc@Vapid.dhs.org>: Dangerous temp file creation during installation of Netscape 6.
- Sun Microsystems: Netscape for the Solaris Operating Environment
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