Description
lintian 1.23 and earlier removes the working directory even if it was not created by lintian, which may allow local users to delete arbitrary files or directories via a symlink attack.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | lintian | 1.23.6 | — |
| Debian 13 | lintian | 1.23.6 | — |
| Debian 12 | lintian | 1.23.6 | — |
| Debian 3.0 | lintian | 1.20.17.1 | DSA-630-1 |
Advisories 1
- DSA-630-1 lintian - insecure temporary directory Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
References
- lintian-symlink(18808) vdb-entry
- 13771 third-party-advisory
- DSA-630 vendor-advisory