DropboxApplication

CVE-2010-3354

MEDIUM · 6.9 CVSS v2.0 Published 2010-10-20
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
74/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
dropboxd in Dropbox 0.7.110 places a zero-length directory name in the LD_LIBRARY_PATH, which allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse shared library in the current working directory.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The dropboxd binary in Dropbox 0.7.110 incorrectly sets LD_LIBRARY_PATH to include an empty directory name, which causes the dynamic linker to search for shared libraries in the current working directory before system library paths. A local attacker can place a malicious shared library with the same name as an expected library in the working directory where dropboxd runs, achieving arbitrary code execution with the victim's privileges.

MitigationSanitize LD_LIBRARY_PATH to remove empty/null entries and ensure only absolute, controlled paths are included; alternatively, use absolute paths for all library references or employ rpath/runpath mechanisms.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
DropboxApplication
Affected:= 0.7.110

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if Dropbox is installed
    Run 'dpkg -l | grep dropbox' on Debian-based systems, or 'rpm -qa | grep -i dropbox' on RHEL-based systems, or check for the presence of the Dropbox application directory (typically ~/.dropbox or /opt/dropbox)
    Affected if No Dropbox installation found means not affected
  2. Identify installed Dropbox version
    Run 'dropboxd --version' or check the version file in the Dropbox installation directory, or inspect the binary metadata
    Affected if Version is exactly 0.7.110 indicates the affected version
  3. Verify dropboxd binary presence
    Locate the dropboxd binary using 'which dropboxd' or by searching in common paths like ~/.dropbox/dist or /opt/dropbox
    Affected if Binary not found means not affected
  4. Inspect LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment handling
    Run 'strings /path/to/dropboxd | grep -i LD_LIBRARY_PATH' or use 'ldd -v /path/to/dropboxd' to check library paths, and examine any wrapper scripts that set this variable
    Affected if The binary or its wrapper script sets LD_LIBRARY_PATH with an empty entry (such as 'LD_LIBRARY_PATH=:/usr/lib:...' or 'LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/path:') indicates vulnerability present
  5. Check dropboxd working directory
    When dropboxd runs, check its current working directory using 'ps aux | grep dropboxd' then 'pwdx <pid>' or by examining any desktop launcher/script that invokes it
    Affected if The working directory is writable by a local attacker and dropboxd uses the vulnerable LD_LIBRARY_PATH setting, the system is exploitable

A system is affected only if Dropbox version 0.7.110 is installed and the dropboxd binary or its startup mechanism sets LD_LIBRARY_PATH with an empty directory entry that causes the current working directory to be searched for libraries.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Sanitize LD_LIBRARY_PATH to remove empty/null entries and ensure only absolute, controlled paths are included; alternatively, use absolute paths for all library references or employ rpath/runpath mechanisms.

Fix this in Dropbox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-3354 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2010-3354 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data