readline: insecure temporary file use in _rl_tropen()
Published Aug 20, 2014
3.3
LOWCVSS 2.0
EPSS 0.42%
Description
The _rl_tropen function in util.c in GNU readline before 6.3 patch 3 allows local users to create or overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a /var/tmp/rltrace.[PID] file.
Affected products
No data.
Configuration 2
- ≤ 6.3
- 2.1
- 2.2
- 4.0
- 4.1
- 4.2
- 4.2
- 4.3
- 5.0
- 5.1
- 5.2
- 6.0
- 6.1
- 6.2
Configuration 4
- 20
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
compat-readline43
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
readline
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
compat-readline5
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
mingw32-readline
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
readline
Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
readline
Not affected
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | compat-readline43 | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | readline | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | compat-readline5 | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | mingw32-readline | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | readline | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | readline | Not affected | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat statement
This issue is only exposed via readline's debugging/tracing code and is not used by readline or any other application in Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The tracing functions are defined in a private header file and are only meant for the readline library's internal use. In general use, there is no exposure of this insecure temporary file issue, and while this does affect the versions of readline as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, 6 and 7 it is not currently planned to be addressed in future updates. Red Hat Product Security has rated this issue as having Low security impact. For additional information, refer to the Issue Severity Classification: https://access.redhat.com/security/updates/classification/.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.1 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.0 score for this CVE.
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
No CISA SSVC assessment for this CVE yet.
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 1, 2026.
Score over time
2022–2026- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Percentile over time
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Table of values (9 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 0.42% (0.00419) | 33.86th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 0.43% (0.00432) | 34.28th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 0.16% (0.00157) | 33.96th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 0.04% (0.00042) | 5.07th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.04% (0.00042) | 5.63th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 1.28% (0.01282) | 68.34th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 22, 2023 | 1.28% (0.01282) | 68.05th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Apr 1, 2022 | 1.28% (0.01282) | 65.91th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 1.28% (0.01282) | 41.72th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
References (12)
- http://advisories.mageia.org/MGASA-2014-0319.html x_refsource_CONFIRMThird Party Advisory
- http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-readline/2014-03/msg00057.html mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTPatchVendor Advisory
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2014-09/msg00037.html vendor-advisoryx_refsource_SUSEThird Party Advisory
- http://seclists.org/oss-sec/2014/q1/579 mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- http://seclists.org/oss-sec/2014/q1/587 mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2014:154 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_MANDRIVABroken Link
- http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2015:132 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_MANDRIVABroken Link
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-2524 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1077023 x_refsource_MISCIssue Tracking
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2014-July/135686.html vendor-advisoryx_refsource_FEDORAThird Party Advisory
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-2524
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-2524
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.