CVE-2021-31154: Pleaser Permissions Bypass Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-pp74-39w2-v4w9
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CVSS 7.8
CWE-59 CWE-340
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-31154 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.8) permissions bypass vulnerability (CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')) affecting Pleaser libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves permissions bypass in pleaser. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.4.0.

CVE-2021-31154 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-31154
GHSA Identifier GHSA-pp74-39w2-v4w9
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.8
CWE Classification CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
Affected Product Pleaser
Package Ecosystem crates.io
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2021-31154

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Pleaser dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

pleaser fixed: 0.4.0 
Upgrade pleaser to 0.4.0
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for pleaser

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2021-31154, inspect your project dependencies for Pleaser:

inspect dependencies for pleaser

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Pleaser in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.4.0), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following'), where the product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource. In Pleaser, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

pleaseedit in pleaser before 0.4.0 uses predictable temporary filenames in /tmp and the target directory. This allows a local attacker to gain full root privileges by staging a symlink attack.

CVE-2021-31154 Affected Pleaser Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.4.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
pleaser
 crates.io
< 0.4.0
0.4.0

References

NVD — CVE-2021-31154 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-31154
crates.io/crates/pleaser WEB
https://crates.io/crates/pleaser
gitlab.com/edneville/please WEB
https://gitlab.com/edneville/please
gitlab.com/edneville/please/-/... WEB
https://gitlab.com/edneville/please/-/tree/master/src/bin
rustsec.org/advisories/rustsec-... WEB
https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2021-0102.html
Pleaser Security Information SECURITY
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/05/18/1

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-31154?
CVE-2021-31154 is a security vulnerability in Pleaser involving Permissions bypass in pleaser under CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following').
Which Pleaser versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.4.0 across affected packages: pleaser.
What version fixes CVE-2021-31154?
Upgrading to 0.4.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is pleaser affected?
Yes, pleaser is affected in releases prior to 0.4.0. Upgrade your dependency to 0.4.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-31154?
CVE-2021-31154 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-31154?
CVE-2021-31154 is classified under CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') (The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for CVE-2021-31154?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for pleaser'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-pp74-39w2-v4w9",
  "modified" : "2023-04-03T19:13:35Z",
  "published" : "2021-08-25T21:01:44Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-31154" ],
  "summary" : "Permissions bypass in pleaser",
  "details" : "pleaseedit in pleaser before 0.4.0 uses predictable temporary filenames in /tmp and the target directory. This allows a local attacker to gain full root privileges by staging a symlink attack.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "pleaser"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.4.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-31154"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://crates.io/crates/pleaser"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://gitlab.com/edneville/please"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://gitlab.com/edneville/please/-/tree/master/src/bin"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2021-0102.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/05/18/1"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-340", "CWE-59" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-06-01T19:34:12Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-05-27T13:15:00Z"
  }
}