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Out-of-bounds ReadWeakness · CWE-125

CVE-2023-32190

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-10-16
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
mlocate's %post script allows RUN_UPDATEDB_AS user to make arbitrary files world readable by abusing insecure file operations that run with root privileges.

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 · moderate confidence

The mlocate package's %post installation script runs with root privileges and contains insecure file operations. The user specified in the RUN_UPDATEDB_AS configuration can abuse these operations to make arbitrary files on the system world-readable, leading to unauthorized information disclosure.

MitigationRestrict or disable the RUN_UPDATEDB_AS user configuration and ensure updatedb runs with minimal necessary privileges in a properly sandboxed environment to prevent arbitrary file permission changes.

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

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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. Check if mlocate is installed and get version
    Run 'rpm -q mlocate' or 'dpkg -l mlocate' to see if installed, then 'rpm -qi mlocate' or 'dpkg -s mlocate' for version details
    Affected if mlocate is installed and the installed version is older than the fixed version for this CVE (if known)
  2. Locate the updatedb configuration file
    Check /etc/updatedb.conf or /etc/sysconfig/updatedb for the RUN_UPDATEDB_AS directive
    Affected if The RUN_UPDATEDB_AS directive exists and specifies a user account
  3. Verify RUN_UPDATEDB_AS configuration value
    Inspect the configuration file and identify which user account is configured to run updatedb
    Affected if RUN_UPDATEDB_AS is set to any user account, particularly a non-root or unprivileged account that could potentially exploit the insecure file operations
  4. Check updatedb cron job or systemd timer
    Look for cron entries in /etc/cron.daily/updatedb.cron or systemd timer for updatedb.service
    Affected if The updatedb job is scheduled to run, which would execute the vulnerable post-installation script behavior

The environment is affected if mlocate is installed, the RUN_UPDATEDB_AS configuration specifies a user account, and that user could exploit insecure file operations during updatedb execution to make arbitrary files world-readable.

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

Restrict or disable the RUN_UPDATEDB_AS user configuration and ensure updatedb runs with minimal necessary privileges in a properly sandboxed environment to prevent arbitrary file permission changes.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

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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-2023-32190 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