Insights-client: unsafe handling of temporary files and directories
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2023-3972 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | redhat |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2023-11-01 16:15:08 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-11-07 12:17:33 UTC |
| Description | A vulnerability was found in insights-client. This security issue occurs because of insecure file operations or unsafe handling of temporary files and directories that lead to local privilege escalation. Before the insights-client has been registered on the system by root, an unprivileged local user or attacker could create the /var/tmp/insights-client directory (owning the directory with read, write, and execute permissions) on the system. After the insights-client is registered by root, an attacker could then control the directory content that insights are using by putting malicious scripts into it and executing arbitrary code as root (trivially bypassing SELinux protections because insights processes are allowed to disable SELinux system-wide). |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 7.8 HIGH from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS: 0.002710000 probability, percentile 0.196190000 (date 2026-11-08)
Problem Types: CWE-379 | CWE-668 | CWE-379 Creation of Temporary File in Directory with Insecure Permissions | CWE-379 CWE-379 Creation of Temporary File in Directory with Insecure Permissions
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Primary | 7.8 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 7.8 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 7.8 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
LocalAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
LowUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)
Vendor Declared Affected Products
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| cve-details | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | access.redhat.com | Vendor Advisory |
| Red Hat | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | access.redhat.com | Vendor Advisory |
| feat: improve temp directories by ahitacat · Pull Request #3878 · RedHatInsights/insights-core · GitHub | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | github.com | Patch |
| Red Hat | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | access.redhat.com | Vendor Advisory |
| Red Hat | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | access.redhat.com | Vendor Advisory |
| Red Hat | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | access.redhat.com | Vendor Advisory |
| Red Hat | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | access.redhat.com | Vendor Advisory |
| Red Hat | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | access.redhat.com | Vendor Advisory |
| Red Hat | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | access.redhat.com | Vendor Advisory |
| Red Hat | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | access.redhat.com | Vendor Advisory |
| 2227027 – (CVE-2023-3972) CVE-2023-3972 insights-client: unsafe handling of temporary files and directories | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | bugzilla.redhat.com | Issue Tracking, Vendor Advisory |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: This issue was discovered by Alasdair Kergon (Red Hat) and Pavel Odvody (Red Hat). (en)
Additional Advisory Data
| Source | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| CNA | 2023-07-27T00:00:00.000Z | Reported to Red Hat. |
| CNA | 2023-11-01T11:00:00.000Z | Made public. |
Workarounds
CNA: Red Hat has investigated whether a possible mitigation exists for this issue, and has not been able to identify a practical example. Please update the affected package as soon as possible.
Legacy QID Mappings
- 242269 Red Hat Update for insights-client (RHSA-2023:6264)
- 242273 Red Hat Update for insights-client (RHSA-2023:6283)
- 242274 Red Hat Update for insights-client (RHSA-2023:6284)
- 242275 Red Hat Update for insights-client (RHSA-2023:6282)
- 242336 Red Hat Update for insights-client (RHSA-2023:6798)
- 242341 Red Hat Update for insights-client (RHSA-2023:6795)
- 242342 Red Hat Update for insights-client (RHSA-2023:6796)
- 242384 Red Hat Update for insights-client (RHSA-2023:6811)