Bug 2249525 (CVE-2023-47039)

Summary: CVE-2023-47039 perl: Perl for Windows binary hijacking vulnerability
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: Mauro Matteo Cascella <mcascell>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security <prodsec-ir-bot>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
Severity: medium Docs Contact:
Priority: medium    
Version: unspecifiedCC: security-response-team
Target Milestone: ---Keywords: Security
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Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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Fixed In Version: perl 5.32.1 Doc Type: If docs needed, set a value
Doc Text:
A vulnerability was found in Perl. This security issue occurs while Perl for Windows relies on the system path environment variable to find the shell (`cmd.exe`). When running an executable that uses the Windows Perl interpreter, Perl attempts to find and execute `cmd.exe` within the operating system. However, due to path search order issues, Perl initially looks for cmd.exe in the current working directory. This flaw allows an attacker with limited privileges to place`cmd.exe` in locations with weak permissions, such as `C:\ProgramData`. By doing so, arbitrary code can be executed when an administrator attempts to use this executable from these compromised locations.
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Bug Blocks: 2249528    

Description Mauro Matteo Cascella 2023-11-13 16:55:33 UTC 
Perl for Windows relies on the system path environment variable to find the shell (`cmd.exe`). When running an executable which uses Windows Perl interpreter, Perl attempts to find and execute `cmd.exe` within the operating system. However, due to path search order issues, Perl initially looks for cmd.exe in the current working directory.

An attacker with limited privileges can exploit this behavior by placing `cmd.exe` in locations with weak permissions, such as `C:\ProgramData`. By doing so, when an administrator attempts to use this executable from these compromised locations, arbitrary code can be executed.