nautilus: Insufficient validation of trust of .desktop files with execute permission
Published Sep 20, 2017
6.5
MEDIUMCVSS 3.1
EPSS 2.47%
Description
GNOME Nautilus before 3.23.90 allows attackers to spoof a file type by using the .desktop file extension, as demonstrated by an attack in which a .desktop file's Name field ends in .pdf but this file's Exec field launches a malicious "sh -c" command. In other words, Nautilus provides no UI indication that a file actually has the potentially unsafe .desktop extension; instead, the UI only shows the .pdf extension. One (slightly) mitigating factor is that an attack requires the .desktop file to have execute permission. The solution is to ask the user to confirm that the file is supposed to be treated as a .desktop file, and then remember the user's answer in the metadata::trusted field.
Affected products
No data.
Configuration 2
- 8.0
- 9.0
- 10.0
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
nautilus-0:3.22.3-4.el7_4
Fixed · RHSA-2018:0223
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
nautilus
Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
nautilus
Will not fix
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | nautilus-0:3.22.3-4.el7_4 | Fixed | RHSA-2018:0223 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | nautilus | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | nautilus | Will not fix | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
No remediation recorded yet.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:P/A:N
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
2021–2026- EPSS v1
- EPSS v5
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
Percentile over time
- EPSS v1
- EPSS v5
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
Table of values (13 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 2.47% (0.02471) | 83.95th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 2.47% (0.02471) | 82.38th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Dec 9, 2025 | 3.91% (0.03908) | 87.87th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Oct 1, 2025 | 5.55% (0.05553) | 89.91th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Aug 24, 2025 | 3.39% (0.03390) | 86.91th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 0.39% (0.00388) | 57.87th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 0.12% (0.00122) | 48.14th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jun 21, 2024 | 0.17% (0.00173) | 54.61th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.17% (0.00173) | 52.61th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 1.28% (0.01282) | 68.34th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 1.28% (0.01282) | 41.72th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 3, 2022 | 2.07% (0.02069) | 50.36th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Apr 14, 2021 | 2.07% (0.02069) | 0.00th | v1 |
References (13)
- http://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-3994 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_DEBIANThird Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101012 vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:0223 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHATThird Party Advisory
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-14604 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=860268 x_refsource_MISCIssue TrackingThird Party Advisory
- https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=777991 x_refsource_MISCIssue TrackingVendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1490872 Issue Tracking
- https://github.com/GNOME/nautilus/commit/1630f53481f445ada0a455e9979236d31a8d3bb0 x_refsource_MISCIssue TrackingPatchThird Party Advisory
- https://github.com/GNOME/nautilus/commit/bc919205bf774f6af3fa7154506c46039af5a69b x_refsource_MISCIssue TrackingPatchThird Party Advisory
- https://github.com/freedomofpress/securedrop/issues/2238 x_refsource_MISCThird Party Advisory
- https://micahflee.com/2017/04/breaking-the-security-model-of-subgraph-os/ x_refsource_MISCExploitThird Party Advisory
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-14604
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-14604
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.