# CVE-2020-14367: Path traversal in Chrony > An attacker with privileged access can exploit a symlink vulnerability in chrony's PID file creation to overwrite arbitrary files, causing data loss and denial of service. - **Severity:** Medium 6.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** An administrator - **Attackable:** Local or same network only - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 24 Aug 2020 - **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024 - **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2020-14367, DEBIAN-CVE-2020-14367, GHSA-73h7-c2xm-9mrv, MGASA-2020-0341, SUSE-SU-2021:4147-1, SUSE-SU-2022:0845-1, SUSE-SU-2022:0845-2, UBUNTU-CVE-2020-14367, USN-4475-1, openSUSE-SU-2022:0845-1, openSUSE-SU-2024:10682-1 ## What is CVE-2020-14367? CVE-2020-14367 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 24 Aug 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. ### Official description A flaw was found in chrony versions before 3.5.1 when creating the PID file under the /var/run/chrony folder. The file is created during chronyd startup while still running as the root user, and when it's opened for writing, chronyd does not check for an existing symbolic link with the same file name. This flaw allows an attacker with privileged access to create a symlink with the default PID file name pointing to any destination file in the system, resulting in data loss and a denial of service due to the path traversal. Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-14367? It affects 3 products. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `chrony` | SUSE:HPE Helion OpenStack 8 | All versions | 4.1-5.9.1 | | `augeas` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Installer Updates 15 SP3 | All versions | 1.10.1-3.9.1 | | `augeas` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.0 | All versions | 1.10.1-3.9.1 | | `augeas` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1 | All versions | 1.10.1-3.9.1 | | `chrony` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1 | All versions | 4.1-150300.16.3.1 | | `augeas` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 | All versions | 1.10.1-3.9.1 | | `augeas` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 | All versions | 1.10.1-3.9.1 | | `chrony` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 | All versions | 4.1-150300.16.3.1 | | `augeas` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP2 | All versions | 1.10.1-3.9.1 | | `chrony` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-BCL | All versions | 4.1-5.9.1 | | `chrony` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3-BCL | All versions | 4.1-5.9.1 | | `chrony` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3-LTSS | All versions | 4.1-5.9.1 | | `chrony` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-LTSS | All versions | 4.1-5.9.1 | | `chrony` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 | All versions | 4.1-5.9.1 | | `chrony` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP3 | All versions | 4.1-5.9.1 | | `chrony` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP4 | All versions | 4.1-5.9.1 | | `chrony` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP5 | All versions | 4.1-5.9.1 | | `chrony` | SUSE:OpenStack Cloud 8 | All versions | 4.1-5.9.1 | | `chrony` | SUSE:OpenStack Cloud 9 | All versions | 4.1-5.9.1 | | `chrony` | SUSE:OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 8 | All versions | 4.1-5.9.1 | | `chrony` | SUSE:OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 9 | All versions | 4.1-5.9.1 | | `augeas` | openSUSE:Leap 15.3 | All versions | 1.10.1-3.9.1 | | `chrony` | openSUSE:Leap 15.3 | All versions | 4.1-150300.16.3.1 | | `chrony` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 4.1-5.2 | Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora, Tuxfamily Chrony. ## How do I fix CVE-2020-14367? Upgrade to a fixed version. ## Is CVE-2020-14367 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-14367 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux - [CVE-2020-11651](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11651/): SaltStack Salt Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2020-7247](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7247/): OpenSMTPD Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2019-16928](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16928/): Exim Out-of-bounds Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2018-6789](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6789/): Exim Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2015-2590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2590/): Oracle Java SE and Java SE Embedded Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2020-14367 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2020-14367 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 24 Aug 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-14367 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page. Task: 1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies. 2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it. 3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead. 4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why. 5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing. Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-14367/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-14367/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-14367 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-14367 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-14367 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-14367/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.