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CVE Record

CVE-2017-18018: In GNU Coreutils through 8.29, chown-core.c in chown and chgrp does not prevent replacement of a plain file...

In GNU Coreutils through 8.29, chown-core.c in chown and chgrp does not prevent replacement of a plain file with a symlink during use of the POSIX "-R -L" options, which allows local users to modify the ownership of arbitrary files by leveraging a race condition.

HighCVSS 7.1Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysis

Security readout for executives and security teams

This flaw affects GNU Coreutils chown/chgrp behavior through 8.29. A local user may win a race while ownership changes are being applied recursively with symlink-following options, causing ownership changes on files that were not intended targets. Business impact is mainly privilege-boundary failure on shared Unix/Linux systems. Exposure is most likely on systems using GNU Coreutils through 8.29 where privileged users or jobs run recursive chown/chgrp with -L on directories writable by local users. The provided affected-product metadata is incomplete, so distribution package status must be verified locally. Prioritize shared servers, build systems, hosting environments, and multi-user Linux assets. This is not evidenced as internet-exploitable, but it can undermine local privilege boundaries where privileged ownership changes touch user-controlled paths. Mitigation focus: Inventory GNU Coreutils versions across Unix/Linux assets.; Check operating-system vendor advisories for fixed or backported Coreutils packages.; Avoid privileged chown/chgrp -R -L on user-writable paths..

Prepared

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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ATT&CK lookup starting points

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cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-362: Exact CWE lookup

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2017-18018 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
7.1 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
1Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
7.1CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N1.85.2Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

7.1High
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2017-18018Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-362 · source CWE mapping

Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')

Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.