CVE-2024-57966
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in KDE ark archive utility allows extraction of archive files to arbitrary absolute paths on the filesystem. Attackers can overwrite critical system files or place malicious executables in trusted locations. Users of ark versions before 24.12.0 on Linux systems are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- KDE ark
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise via overwriting system binaries or configuration files, potentially leading to privilege escalation or remote code execution.
Likely Case
Local file overwrite leading to data loss, privilege escalation, or execution of malicious code if combined with other vulnerabilities.
If Mitigated
Limited to user's home directory if proper sandboxing or containerization is in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user to open a specially crafted archive file. No authentication bypass needed beyond user interaction.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 24.12.0 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/KDE/ark/commit/fe518d81b338941e0bf1c5ce5e75a9ab6de4bb58
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Update ark package using your distribution's package manager. 2. For Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade ark. 3. For Fedora: sudo dnf update ark. 4. For Arch: sudo pacman -Syu ark.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Use alternative archive tools
linuxTemporarily use other archive utilities like file-roller, xarchiver, or command-line tools until ark is patched.
Disable ark file association
linuxRemove ark as default handler for archive files to prevent automatic opening.
xdg-mime default org.gnome.FileRoller.desktop application/x-7z-compressed application/x-bzip application/x-bzip2 application/x-compressed-tar application/x-cpio application/x-gzip application/x-lha application/x-lzip application/x-lzma application/x-lzop application/x-rar application/x-tar application/x-xz application/zip
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Educate users to only open archives from trusted sources and verify archive contents before extraction.
- Implement file integrity monitoring on critical system directories to detect unauthorized file changes.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check ark version: ark --version | grep -E 'ark.*[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+'Check Version:
ark --versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 24.12.0 or higher: ark --version | grep -q '24\.12\.' && echo 'Patched' || echo 'Vulnerable'📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual file extraction to system directories
- Archive extraction errors related to path resolution
Network Indicators:
- Archive downloads from untrusted sources
SIEM Query:
Process execution where parent_process contains 'ark' AND (file_path contains '/usr/bin/' OR file_path contains '/etc/' OR file_path contains '/bin/')