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chrony — security advisory

Type: advisorySources: OSVAdvisory ID: DEBIAN-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. 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.

Products
chrony
Affected versions
Not specified
Fixed versions
3.5.1-1
CVEs
CVE-2020-14367
Confirmed fixed CVEs
Not specified
Updated in this feed
1 Nov 2026, 12:40 UTC · Revision 1

Source evidence

DEBIAN-CVE-2020-14367

core-osv · Original source

Published 24 Aug 2020, 15:15 UTC

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.

osv:DEBIAN-CVE-2020-14367

chrony

Fixed versions: 3.5.1-1

chrony

Fixed versions: 3.5.1-1

chrony

Fixed versions: 3.5.1-1

Complete source record
{
  "id": "cc6627deb3393734201506873e617101b2cf3a3295dab6ded18037261f0fbc57",
  "url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/DEBIAN-CVE-2020-14367",
  "method": "structured",
  "payload": {
    "kind": "advisory",
    "title": "DEBIAN-CVE-2020-14367",
    "summary": "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.",
    "evidence": "osv:DEBIAN-CVE-2020-14367",
    "products": [
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "chrony",
          "evidence": "/affected/0/package/name"
        },
        "prerequisites": [],
        "fixed_versions": [
          {
            "value": "3.5.1-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/ranges"
          }
        ],
        "affected_versions": []
      },
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "chrony",
          "evidence": "/affected/1/package/name"
        },
        "prerequisites": [],
        "fixed_versions": [
          {
            "value": "3.5.1-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/ranges"
          }
        ],
        "affected_versions": []
      },
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "chrony",
          "evidence": "/affected/2/package/name"
        },
        "prerequisites": [],
        "fixed_versions": [
          {
            "value": "3.5.1-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/2/ranges"
          }
        ],
        "affected_versions": []
      }
    ],
    "severity": "medium",
    "structured": {
      "id": "DEBIAN-CVE-2020-14367",
      "aliases": [
        "DEBIAN-CVE-2020-14367"
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "type": "CVSS_V3",
          "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H"
        }
      ],
      "affected": [
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "0"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "3.5.1-1"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "package": {
            "name": "chrony",
            "purl": "pkg:deb/debian/chrony?arch=source&distro=bookworm",
            "ecosystem": "Debian:12"
          },
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2020-14367.json"
          },
          "ecosystem_specific": {
            "urgency": "unimportant"
          }
        },
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "0"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "3.5.1-1"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "package": {
            "name": "chrony",
            "purl": "pkg:deb/debian/chrony?arch=source&distro=trixie",
            "ecosystem": "Debian:13"
          },
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2020-14367.json"
          },
          "ecosystem_specific": {
            "urgency": "unimportant"
          }
        },
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "0"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "3.5.1-1"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "package": {
            "name": "chrony",
            "purl": "pkg:deb/debian/chrony?arch=source&distro=forky",
            "ecosystem": "Debian:14"
          },
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2020-14367.json"
          },
          "ecosystem_specific": {
            "urgency": "unimportant"
          }
        }
      ],
      "modified": "2026-10-26T12:00:36.714617695Z",
      "provider": "osv",
      "upstream": [
        "CVE-2020-14367"
      ],
      "references": [
        "https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2020-14367"
      ]
    },
    "related_cves": [
      {
        "value": "CVE-2020-14367",
        "evidence": "/upstream"
      }
    ],
    "security_relevant": true,
    "severity_evidence": "/severity/0/score"
  },
  "source_id": "core-osv",
  "document_id": 451237,
  "published_at": "2020-08-24T15:15:13.147+00:00"
}