Symbolic Link Privilege Escalation in Portrait Dell Color Management

Mitigation Strategies

To mitigate this vulnerability, ensure that the Portrait Dell Color Management application is updated to version 3.7.0 or later, where the symbolic link vulnerability has been addressed.

Additionally, restrict local user permissions to prevent the creation of symbolic links or reparse points in the installation directories, especially under C:\ProgramData\Portrait Displays\CW\data\i1D3\.

Avoid running the installer with elevated privileges unless necessary, and verify the integrity of files and links in the installation path before and after installation.

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability exists in the Portrait Dell Color Management application before version 3.7.0 for Dell monitors on Windows. It is a symbolic link vulnerability that allows a local user with low privileges to escalate their privileges to Administrator.

During installation, the software writes a file named CCFLFamily_07Feb11.edr to a specific directory while running with elevated privileges. However, the installer does not properly check if the destination path is a symbolic link or reparse point.

An attacker can exploit this by creating a malicious symbolic link that redirects the file write operation to an arbitrary system location. This enables the attacker to create or overwrite files with elevated privileges.

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can allow a local low-privileged user to escalate their privileges to Administrator on a Windows system running the affected software.

By exploiting the symbolic link vulnerability during installation, an attacker can create or overwrite arbitrary files with elevated privileges, potentially leading to full system compromise.

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