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TITLE:
Mathematica for Linux Insecure Temporary Files

SECUNIA ADVISORY ID:
SA39805

VERIFY ADVISORY:
http://secunia.com/advisories/39805/

DESCRIPTION:
Paul Szabo has reported some security issues in Mathematica, which
can be exploited by malicious, local users to potentially gain
escalated privileges.

The application uses temporary files in the /tmp/MathLink directory
in an insecure manner. This can be exploited to create world writable
files in normally restricted directories or corrupt restricted files
via symlink attacks. 

NOTE: An insecure usage of the /tmp/fonts$$.conf file was also
reported.

The security issues are reported in Mathematica 7 for Linux. Other
Linux versions may also be affected.

SOLUTION:
Restrict local access to trusted users only. Do not run Mathematica
as root.

PROVIDED AND/OR DISCOVERED BY:
Paul Szabo

ORIGINAL ADVISORY:
http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/fulldisclosure/2010-05/0177.html

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About:
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private users keeping their systems up to date against the latest
vulnerabilities.

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http://secunia.com/advisories/about_secunia_advisories/


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