Description
The edit_cmd function in crontab.c in (1) cronie before 1.4.4 and (2) Vixie cron (vixie-cron) allows local users to change the modification times of arbitrary files, and consequently cause a denial of service, via a symlink attack on a temporary file in the /tmp directory.
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.
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 5 | vixie-cron | 4:4.1-81.el5 | RHSA-2012:0304 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | cronie | 1.5.0-65.4 | openSUSE-SU-2024:10139-1 |
Advisories 2
- RHSA-2012:0304 Red Hat Security Advisory: vixie-cron security, bug fix, and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:10139-1 cron-4.2-65.4 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
References
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=565809
- 38700 third-party-advisory
- http://git.fedorahosted.org/git/cronie.git?p=cronie.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=9e4a8fa5f9171fb724981f53879c9b20264aeb61
- FEDORA-2010-2751 vendor-advisory
- 38741 third-party-advisory
- 48104 third-party-advisory
- 38391 vdb-entry