RHSA-2003:231

Vulnerability from csaf_redhat - Published: 2003-10-02 19:53 - Updated: 2025-11-21 17:26
Summary
Red Hat Security Advisory: semi security update

Notes

Topic
Updated semi packages that fix vulnerabilities in semi's temporary file handling are now available.
Details
semi is a MIME library for GNU Emacs and XEmacs used by the wl mail package. A vulnerability in semi version 1.14.3 and earlier allows an attacker to overwrite arbitrary files with potentially arbitrary contents using the privileges of the user running Emacs and semi. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2003-0440 to this issue. Users of semi are advised to upgrade to these packages, which contain a backported patch correcting this issue.
Terms of Use
This content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). If you distribute this content, or a modified version of it, you must provide attribution to Red Hat Inc. and provide a link to the original.
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    "distribution": {
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    "lang": "en",
    "notes": [
      {
        "category": "summary",
        "text": "Updated semi packages that fix vulnerabilities in semi\u0027s temporary file\nhandling are now available.",
        "title": "Topic"
      },
      {
        "category": "general",
        "text": "semi is a MIME library for GNU Emacs and XEmacs used by the wl mail package.\n\nA vulnerability in semi version 1.14.3 and earlier allows an attacker\nto overwrite arbitrary files with potentially arbitrary contents using the\nprivileges of the user running Emacs and semi. The Common Vulnerabilities\nand Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2003-0440\nto this issue.\n\nUsers of semi are advised to upgrade to these packages, which contain\na backported patch correcting this issue.",
        "title": "Details"
      },
      {
        "category": "legal_disclaimer",
        "text": "This content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). If you distribute this content, or a modified version of it, you must provide attribution to Red Hat Inc. and provide a link to the original.",
        "title": "Terms of Use"
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        "url": "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2003:231"
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      "notes": [
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          "category": "description",
          "text": "The (1) semi MIME library 1.14.5 and earlier, and (2) wemi 1.14.0 and possibly other versions, allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on temporary files.",
          "title": "Vulnerability description"
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      "release_date": "2003-06-06T00:00:00+00:00",
      "remediations": [
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          "date": "2003-10-02T19:53:00+00:00",
          "details": "Before applying this update, make sure all previously released errata\nrelevant to your system have been applied.\n\nTo update all RPMs for your particular architecture, run:\n\nrpm -Fvh [filenames]\n\nwhere [filenames] is a list of the RPMs you wish to upgrade.  Only those\nRPMs which are currently installed will be updated.  Those RPMs which are\nnot installed but included in the list will not be updated.  Note that you\ncan also use wildcards (*.rpm) if your current directory *only* contains the\ndesired RPMs.\n\nPlease note that this update is also available via Red Hat Network.  Many\npeople find this an easier way to apply updates.  To use Red Hat Network,\nlaunch the Red Hat Update Agent with the following command:\n\nup2date\n\nThis will start an interactive process that will result in the appropriate\nRPMs being upgraded on your system.\n\nIf up2date fails to connect to Red Hat Network due to SSL Certificate \nErrors, you need to install a version of the up2date client with an updated \ncertificate.  The latest version of up2date is available from the Red Hat \nFTP site and may also be downloaded directly from the RHN website:\n\nhttps://rhn.redhat.com/help/latest-up2date.pxt",
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}


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Sightings

Author Source Type Date

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.
  • Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • 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.



Detection rules are retrieved from Rulezet.