Description
Directory traversal vulnerability in slp.c in the MSN protocol plugin in libpurple in Pidgin 2.6.4 and Adium 1.3.8 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via a .. (dot dot) in an application/x-msnmsgrp2p MSN emoticon (aka custom smiley) request, a related issue to CVE-2004-0122. NOTE: it could be argued that this is resultant from a vulnerability in which an emoticon download request is processed even without a preceding text/x-mms-emoticon message that announced availability of the emoticon.
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 | pidgin | 2.6.5-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | pidgin | 2.6.5-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | pidgin | 2.6.5-1 | — |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 5 | finch +8 | 2.6.5-1.el5 | RHSA-2010:0044 |
| RHEL 4 | finch +8 | 2.6.5-1.el4.1 | RHSA-2010:0044 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Rhel Productivity 5 | finch +8 | 2.6.5-1.el5 | RHSA-2010:0044 |
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
Exploit-DB 1
- Pidgin MSN 2.6.4 - File Download EDB-11203 · remote · Jan 19, 2010 · verified
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Advisories 1
- RHSA-2010:0044 Red Hat Security Advisory: pidgin security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
References
- [oss-security] 20100102 CVE request - pidgin MSN arbitrary file upload mailing-list
- 37953 third-party-advisory
- http://d.pidgin.im/viewmtn/revision/info/3d02401cf232459fc80c0837d31e05fae7ae5467
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=552483
- 277450 vendor-advisory
- 37954 third-party-advisory
- MDVSA-2010:085 vendor-advisory
- [oss-security] 20100107 Re: CVE request - pidgin MSN arbitrary file upload mailing-list
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:17620 vdb-entry signature
- 1022203 vendor-advisory
- ADV-2009-3663 vdb-entry
- http://developer.pidgin.im/viewmtn/revision/diff/3d02401cf232459fc80c0837d31e05fae7ae5467/with/c64a1adc8bda2b4aeaae1f273541afbc4f71b810/libpurple/protocols/msn/slp.c
- FEDORA-2010-0368 vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2010-0429 vendor-advisory
- ADV-2010-1020 vdb-entry
- SUSE-SR:2010:006 vendor-advisory
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:10333 vdb-entry signature
- http://events.ccc.de/congress/2009/Fahrplan/events/3596.en.html
- http://d.pidgin.im/viewmtn/revision/info/4be2df4f72bd8a55cdae7f2554b73342a497c92f
- ADV-2009-3662 vdb-entry
- http://d.pidgin.im/viewmtn/revision/info/c64a1adc8bda2b4aeaae1f273541afbc4f71b810
- [oss-security] 20100107 Re: CVE request - pidgin MSN arbitrary file upload mailing-list
- 37961 third-party-advisory
- 38915 third-party-advisory