Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A malicious archive can make Engrampa write files outside the intended extraction folder. If a user opens a crafted CPIO or ISO archive on a vulnerable MATE desktop system, this can lead to arbitrary file writes and potentially remote code execution.
Executive priority
Treat as a high-priority desktop hardening issue where staff handle external archives. It is not wormable from the evidence provided, but compromise can follow normal user archive extraction.
Technical view
Engrampa mishandles CPIO archive extraction by following stored symlinks without validating their destination. This creates path traversal and arbitrary write risk outside the extraction directory. The record maps this to CWE-25, CVSS 8.2, and versions before upstream commit 63d5dfa.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on Linux desktop systems using the MATE Engrampa archive manager, especially where users extract archives from email, downloads, shared folders, or support workflows. Fedora and Debian LTS advisories indicate distro packaging relevance.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. Exploitation requires user interaction: a victim must extract a crafted CPIO or ISO archive using vulnerable Engrampa.
Researcher notes
Focus validation on archive extraction behavior and package provenance. The source bundle identifies the upstream fix commit but does not provide complete fixed version ranges across all distributions.
Mitigation direction
- Update Engrampa using vendor or distribution security packages.
- Ensure the update includes upstream fix commit 63d5dfa.
- Restrict extraction of untrusted CPIO and ISO archives until patched.
- Prefer vendor or distro guidance for exact fixed package versions.
Validation and detection
- Inventory systems with MATE Engrampa installed.
- Check installed Engrampa package versions against distro security advisories.
- Confirm patched builds contain commit 63d5dfa or equivalent fix.
- Review workflows where users extract untrusted archives.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-25: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupFile access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references file access or upload behavior, so file telemetry and web shell review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-52138 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.2 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:N
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.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe 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.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:N2.84.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.2HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/mate-desktop/engrampa/security/advisories/GHSA-c98h-v39w-3r7vCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/mate-desktop/engrampa/commit/63d5dfa9005c6b16d0f0ccd888cc859fca78f970CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/4IOJ3QWXTZGCXFEHP72ELY22PZ4AX2CB/CVE reference
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/02/msg00011.htmlCVE reference
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Path Traversal: '/../filedir'
Path Traversal: '/../filedir' represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.