Description
A flaw was found in Exuberant Ctags in the way it handles the "-o" option. This option specifies the tag filename. A crafted tag filename specified in the command line or in the configuration file results in arbitrary command execution because the externalSortTags() in sort.c calls the system(3) function in an unsafe way.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | Exuberant Ctags | All versions are affected | — |
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 | exuberant-ctags | 1:5.9~svn20110310-18 | — |
| Debian 13 | exuberant-ctags | 1:5.9~svn20110310-18 | — |
| Debian 12 | exuberant-ctags | 1:5.9~svn20110310-18 | — |
| Debian 10 | exuberant-ctags | 1:5.9~svn20110310-12+deb10u1 | DLA-3254-1 |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | exuberant-ctags | 1:5.9~svn20110310-16ubuntu0.22.04.1 | USN-5820-1 |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | exuberant-ctags | 1:5.9~svn20110310-12ubuntu0.1 | USN-5820-1 |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | exuberant-ctags | 1:5.9~svn20110310-11ubuntu0.1 | USN-5820-1 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | exuberant-ctags | 1:5.9~svn20110310-11ubuntu0.1~esm1 | USN-5820-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 8 | ctags +1 | 5.8-23.el8 | RHSA-2023:2863 |
AlmaLinux
Errata ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlmaLinux 8 | ctags +1 | 5.8-23.el8 | ALSA-2023:2863 |
Rocky Linux
Errata ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Linux 8 | ctags | 5.8-23.el8 | RLSA-2023:2863 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP4 | ctags | 5.8-150000.3.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0225-1 |
| SLES 15 SP3 | ctags | 5.8-150000.3.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0225-1 |
| SLES 15 SP2 | ctags | 5.8-150000.3.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0225-1 |
| SLES 15 SP1 | ctags | 5.8-150000.3.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0225-1 |
| SLES 12 SP5 | ctags | 5.8-8.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0224-1 |
Show 16 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 12 SP4 | ctags | 5.8-8.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0224-1 |
| SLES 12 SP2 | ctags | 5.8-8.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0224-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP3 | ctags | 5.8-150000.3.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0225-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP2 | ctags | 5.8-150000.3.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0225-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP1 | ctags | 5.8-150000.3.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0225-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP5 | ctags | 5.8-8.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0224-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP4 | ctags | 5.8-8.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0224-1 |
| SLE Real Time 15 SP3 | ctags | 5.8-150000.3.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0225-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP3 | ctags | 5.8-150000.3.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0225-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP2 | ctags | 5.8-150000.3.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0225-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP1 | ctags | 5.8-150000.3.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0225-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 9 | ctags | 5.8-8.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0224-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 9 | ctags | 5.8-8.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0224-1 |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1 | ctags | 5.8-150000.3.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0225-1 |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7 | ctags | 5.8-150000.3.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0225-1 |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 6 | ctags | 5.8-150000.3.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0225-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | ctags | 5.8-12.1 | openSUSE-SU-2024:12624-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.4 | ctags | 5.8-150000.3.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2023:0225-1 |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2 | ctags +1 | 5.8-23.amzn2 | ALAS2-2023-2343 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | ctags | 6.1.0-1 | — |
| Azure Linux 2 (CBL-Mariner) | ctags | 5.9.20220619.0-7 | — |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 8 | ctags +1 | 5.8-23.el8 | ELSA-2023-2863 |
Advisories 11
- ALSA-2023:2863 Moderate: ctags security update AlmaLinux Security Advisories · Oct 29, 2026
- WID-SEC-2023-1238 Red Hat Enterprise Linux: Mehrere Schwachstellen in verschiedenen Komponenten BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Jun 28, 2026
- RHSA-2023:2863 Red Hat Security Advisory: ctags security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- USN-5820-1 exuberant-ctags vulnerability Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Jun 25, 2026
- RLSA-2023:2863 Moderate: ctags security update Rocky Linux Security Advisories · Jun 25, 2026
- DLA-3254-1 exuberant-ctags - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2023:0224-1 Security update for ctags SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2023:0225-1 Security update for ctags SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:12624-1 ctags-5.8-12.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- ALAS2-2023-2343 Moderate: ctags security update (Amazon Linux 2) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Nov 15, 2023
- ELSA-2023-2863 Moderate: ctags security update (Oracle Linux 8) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · May 24, 2023