CVE-2024-32487

An OS command injection flaw was found in Less. Since quoting is mishandled in filename.c, opening files with attacker-controlled file names can lead to OS command execution. Exploitation requires the LESSOPEN environment variable, which is set by default in many common cases.

The described vulnerability in less poses an Important security risk due to its potential for arbitrary OS command execution. Exploitation of this vulnerability allows an attacker to inject malicious commands through specially crafted filenames containing newline characters. This could lead to unauthorized access, data exfiltration, or even full system compromise, depending on the privileges of the user executing the less command. Furthermore, the mishandling of the LESSOPEN environment variable exacerbates the issue, as it can be set by default in many installations, providing an additional vector for exploitation.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options don't meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.