Description
uTox through 0.18.1 contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows Tox friends to write arbitrary files by sending absolute or ../ file names to victims with auto-accept enabled. Attackers can overwrite shell startup files or plant crafted .ftinfo resume records that ft_find_resumeable() loads, abusing FILE pointers to write /proc/self/mem and execute code.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| uTox | uTox | ≤ 0.18.1 | — |
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 | utox | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | utox | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | utox | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | utox | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | utox | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | utox | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | utox | No fix yet | — |
References
- https://github.com/uTox/uTox/issues/1587 issue-tracking
- https://github.com/uTox/uTox/pull/1602 issue-tracking patch
- https://github.com/uTox/uTox/pull/1603 issue-tracking patch
- https://github.com/uTox/uTox/blob/4b014491560c884b556f082d4d34c5229228bbc5/src/xlib/filesys.c#L191-L214 technical-description
- https://github.com/uTox/uTox/blob/4b014491560c884b556f082d4d34c5229228bbc5/src/file_transfers.c#L249-L290 technical-description
- https://github.com/uTox/uTox product
- VulnCheck Advisory: uTox through 0.18.1 Path Traversal via Auto-Accepted File Transfers third-party-advisory