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CVE-2023-44451 is a vulnerability in Linux Mint Xreader’s handling of EPUB files. The flaw exists in the EPUB parsing logic where a user-supplied path is used in file operations without proper validation, enabling directory traversal. By crafting a malicious EPUB (or content that causes the target to open such a file), an attacker can leverage the path traversal to achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. The issue was tracked as ZDI-CAN-21897. User interaction is required (the victim must open a malicious file or visit a malicious page that triggers opening/processing of the EPUB).
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1 valid exploit after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos.
This repository provides a set of Bash scripts to exploit a directory traversal and arbitrary file write vulnerability (CVE-2023-44451, CVE-2023-52076) in the Atril and Xreader document viewers, which are default in several Linux distributions (e.g., Linux Mint, Kali, Parrot, Ubuntu-Mate, Xubuntu, KylinOS). The exploit leverages the ability to craft malicious EPUB (or renamed PDF) files that, when opened by a user, can write arbitrary files to locations accessible by the user. The main exploit script (exploit_rce.sh) automates the creation of such files, enabling remote code execution by writing a malicious .desktop file to the user's autostart directory or by placing an attacker's SSH public key in the user's authorized_keys file for persistent access. The exploit_file_write.sh script allows for arbitrary file writes via crafted EPUBs, and detect.sh provides a detection and sanitization utility for potentially malicious EPUB files. The attack is local in nature, requiring user interaction (opening a crafted file), and targets the file system via path traversal. The repository is well-structured, with clear separation between detection, file write, and RCE exploitation scripts, and includes documentation in the README.md explaining the vulnerability, exploitation methods, and affected products.
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