A AegiFlow
LOWCVSS 3.3

CVE-2023-29383

CVE-2023-29383 updated by NVD

Modified
2026-10-16
Sources
nvd

Summary

In Shadow 4.13, it is possible to inject control characters into fields provided to the SUID program chfn (change finger). Although it is not possible to exploit this directly (e.g., adding a new user fails because \n is in the block list), it is possible to misrepresent the /etc/passwd file when viewed. Use of \r manipulations and Unicode characters to work around blocking of the : character make it possible to give the impression that a new user has been added. In other words, an adversary may be able to convince a system administrator to take the system offline (an indirect, social-engineered denial of service) by demonstrating that "cat /etc/passwd" shows a rogue user account.

References

Includes data from the National Vulnerability Database (NIST). NVD data is in the public domain; this page is not endorsed by NIST.

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