A flaw was found in chrony versions before 3.5.1 when creating the PID file under the /var/run/chrony folder. The file is created during chronyd startup while still running as the root user, and when it's opened for writing, chronyd does not check for an existing symbolic link with the same file name. This flaw allows an attacker with privileged access to create a symlink with the default PID file name pointing to any destination file in the system, resulting in data loss and a denial of service due to the path traversal.
This vulnerability carries a MEDIUM severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 6.0, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction . The vulnerability impacts integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 3 products from tuxfamily, from fedoraproject, from canonical organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
Reported in 2020, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.
2020-08-24T15:15:13.147
2024-11-21T05:03:06.350
Modified
CVSSv3.1: 6.0 (MEDIUM)
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P
3.9
4.9
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version/Range | Vulnerable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | tuxfamily | chrony | < 3.5.1 | Yes |
| Operating System | fedoraproject | fedora | 32 | Yes |
| Operating System | canonical | ubuntu_linux | 18.04 | Yes |
| Operating System | canonical | ubuntu_linux | 20.04 | Yes |
SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For tuxfamily's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.