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Texlive FilesystemApplication · Opensuse

CVE-2020-8017

MEDIUM · 6.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2013.74-16.5.1 / 2017.135-lp151.8.3.1 or later.
See remediation →
65/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
A Race Condition Enabling Link Following vulnerability in the cron job shipped with texlive-filesystem of SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15-SP1, SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12-SP4, SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12-SP5; openSUSE Leap 15.1 allows local users in group mktex to delete arbitrary files on the system This issue affects: SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15-SP1 texlive-filesystem versions prior to 2017.135-9.5.1. SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12-SP4 texlive-filesystem versions prior to 2013.74-16.5.1. SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12-SP5 texlive-filesystem versions prior to 2013.74-16.5.1. openSUSE Leap 15.1 texlive-filesystem versions prior to 2017.135-lp151.8.3.1.

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

A race condition in the texlive-filesystem cron job allows local users belonging to the mktex group to perform symlink attacks (link following), enabling deletion of arbitrary files on the system via exploitation of the timing window in file handling operations.

MitigationApply the vendor patches for texlive-filesystem to upgrade to the fixed versions (2017.135-9.5.1 or later for SLE 15-SP1, 2013.74-16.5.1 or later for SLE 12-SP4/SP5, 2017.135-lp151.8.3.1 or later for openSUSE Leap 15.1), or restrict mktex group membership to trusted users only.

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
Texlive FilesystemApplication
Affected:< 2017.135-9.5.1< 2013.74-16.5.1all versions< 2017.135-lp151.8.3.1
LeapOperating system
Affected:= 15.1

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
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H

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. Verify texlive-filesystem package is installed
    Run 'rpm -q texlive-filesystem' or check package manager for texlive-filesystem
    Affected if Package is installed (vulnerability only applies if package is present)
  2. Check installed version of texlive-filesystem
    Run 'rpm -q --qf "%{VERSION}-%{RELEASE}" texlive-filesystem' or 'dpkg -l texlive-*' for Debian-based systems
    Affected if Version is less than 2017.135-9.5.1 (SLE 15-SP1), less than 2013.74-16.5.1 (SLE 12-SP4/SP5), or less than 2017.135-lp151.8.3.1 (openSUSE Leap 15.1)
  3. Confirm mktex group exists on the system
    Run 'getent group mktex' or check /etc/group for mktex entry
    Affected if mktex group exists and contains at least one user (the race condition requires a user in this group)
  4. Identify users belonging to mktex group
    Run 'getent group mktex' to list members, or use 'id <username>' for specific users
    Affected if Any untrusted user is a member of the mktex group (they can exploit the race condition)
  5. Locate texlive cron job or script files
    Check /etc/cron.d, /etc/cron.daily, /usr/share/texmf/scripts for texlive-related cron scripts
    Affected if Cron job or script handling texlive files is present (exploitation targets this specific file operation)

A user is affected if they have texlive-filesystem installed with a vulnerable version AND have untrusted users as members of the mktex group.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2013.74-16.5.1 / 2017.135-lp151.8.3.1 / 2017.135-9.5.1 or later
Fixed in 2013.74-16.5.12017.135-lp151.8.3.12017.135-9.5.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor patches for texlive-filesystem to upgrade to the fixed versions (2017.135-9.5.1 or later for SLE 15-SP1, 2013.74-16.5.1 or later for SLE 12-SP4/SP5, 2017.135-lp151.8.3.1 or later for openSUSE Leap 15.1), or restrict mktex group membership to trusted users only.

Fix this in Texlive Filesystem Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,440
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,304.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2020-8017 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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