CVE-2023-29383 (GCVE-0-2023-29383)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2023-04-14 00:00 – Updated: 2025-11-03 19:28
VLAI
Summary
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.
Severity
No CVSS data available.
SSVC
Exploitation: poc Automatable: no Technical Impact: partial
CISA Coordinator (v2.0.3)
CWE
Assigner
References
Show details on NVD website
To clipboard 

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Nomenclature

  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
  • Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
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  • Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
  • Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.


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