Arbitrary Code Injection Affecting shadow package, versions <1:4.13+dfsg1-2


Severity

Recommended
0.0
low
0
10

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Threat Intelligence

EPSS
0.05% (22nd percentile)

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  • Snyk IDSNYK-DEBIAN13-SHADOW-5695803
  • published15 Apr 2023
  • disclosed14 Apr 2023

Introduced: 14 Apr 2023

CVE-2023-29383  (opens in a new tab)
CWE-74  (opens in a new tab)

How to fix?

Upgrade Debian:13 shadow to version 1:4.13+dfsg1-2 or higher.

NVD Description

Note: Versions mentioned in the description apply only to the upstream shadow package and not the shadow package as distributed by Debian. See How to fix? for Debian:13 relevant fixed versions and status.

In Shadow 4.13, it is possible to inject control characters into fields provided to the SUID program chfn (change finger). Although it is not possible to exploit this directly (e.g., adding a new user fails because \n is in the block list), it is possible to misrepresent the /etc/passwd file when viewed. Use of \r manipulations and Unicode characters to work around blocking of the : character make it possible to give the impression that a new user has been added. In other words, an adversary may be able to convince a system administrator to take the system offline (an indirect, social-engineered denial of service) by demonstrating that "cat /etc/passwd" shows a rogue user account.

CVSS Scores

version 3.1