Description
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 (5)
Core 5
Core References
Issue Tracking
https://github.com/shadow-maint/shadow/pull/687
Exploit, Third Party Advisory
https://www.trustwave.com/en-us/resources/blogs/spiderlabs-blog/cve-2023-29383-abusing-linux-chfn-to-misrepresent-etc-passwd/
Exploit, Third Party Advisory
https://www.trustwave.com/en-us/resources/security-resources/security-advisories/?fid=31797
Scores
CVSS v3
3.3
EPSS
0.0005
EPSS Percentile
15.9%
Attack Vector
LOCAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
CISA SSVC
Vulnrichment
Exploitation
poc
Automatable
no
Technical Impact
partial
Details
CWE
CWE-125
CWE-74
Status
published
Products (1)
shadow_project/shadow
4.13
Published
Apr 14, 2023
Tracked Since
Feb 18, 2026