CVE-2013-4136: Passenger Insecure Temporary Directory Usage Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-w6rc-q387-vpgq
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CWE-59
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2013-4136 is a MODERATE insecure temporary directory usage vulnerability (CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')) affecting Passenger libraries in the RubyGems ecosystem. The issue involves insecure temporary directory usage in passenger. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.0.6.

CVE-2013-4136 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2013-4136
GHSA Identifier GHSA-w6rc-q387-vpgq
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
Affected Product Passenger
Package Ecosystem RubyGems
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2013-4136

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

passenger fixed: 4.0.6 
Upgrade passenger to 4.0.6
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 passenger

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2013-4136, inspect your project dependencies for Passenger:

inspect dependencies for passenger

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Passenger in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 4.0.6), 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 Passenger, 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

ext/common/ServerInstanceDir.h in Phusion Passenger gem before 4.0.6 for Ruby allows local users to gain privileges or possibly change the ownership of arbitrary directories via a symlink attack on a directory with a predictable name in /tmp/.

CVE-2013-4136 Affected Passenger Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.0.6
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
passenger
gem/passenger
RubyGems
< 4.0.6
4.0.6

References

NVD — CVE-2013-4136 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-4136
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/phusion/passenger/commit/5483b3292cc2af1c83033eaaadec20dba4dcfd9b
code.google.com/p/phusion-passenger... WEB
https://code.google.com/p/phusion-passenger/issues/detail?id=910
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-w6rc-q387-vpgq
Passenger Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/phusion/passenger
Passenger Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/phusion/passenger/blob/release-4.0.6/NEWS
Passenger Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/passenger/CVE-2013-4136.yml
rhn.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2013-11... WEB
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2013-1136.html
Passenger Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2013/07/16/6

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2013-4136?
CVE-2013-4136 is a security vulnerability in Passenger involving insecure temporary directory usage in passenger under CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following').
Which Passenger versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.0.6 across affected packages: passenger.
What version fixes CVE-2013-4136?
Upgrading to 4.0.6 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is passenger affected?
Yes, passenger is affected in releases prior to 4.0.6. Upgrade your dependency to 4.0.6 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2013-4136?
CVE-2013-4136 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 RubyGems dependencies for CVE-2013-4136?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for passenger'. 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-w6rc-q387-vpgq",
  "modified" : "2023-06-09T20:17:24Z",
  "published" : "2017-10-24T18:33:37Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2013-4136" ],
  "summary" : "insecure temporary directory usage in passenger",
  "details" : "ext/common/ServerInstanceDir.h in Phusion Passenger gem before 4.0.6 for Ruby allows local users to gain privileges or possibly change the ownership of arbitrary directories via a symlink attack on a directory with a predictable name in /tmp/.",
  "severity" : [ ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "passenger"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.0.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-4136"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/phusion/passenger/commit/5483b3292cc2af1c83033eaaadec20dba4dcfd9b"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://code.google.com/p/phusion-passenger/issues/detail?id=910"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-w6rc-q387-vpgq"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/phusion/passenger"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/phusion/passenger/blob/release-4.0.6/NEWS"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/passenger/CVE-2013-4136.yml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2013-1136.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2013/07/16/6"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-59" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T20:49:27Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}