A libxfont security update has been released for Debian GNU/Linux 8 Extended LTS to address an issue where a local attacker can open (but not read) local files as user root.
ELA-553-1 libxfont security update
Package libxfont
ELA-553-1 libxfont security update
Version 1:1.5.1-1+deb8u2
Related CVEs CVE-2017-16611
An issue has been found in libxfont, an X11 font rasterisation library. By creating symlinks, a local attacker can open (but not read) local files as user root. This might create unwanted actions with special files like /dev/watchdog.
For Debian 8 jessie, these problems have been fixed in version 1:1.5.1-1+deb8u2.
We recommend that you upgrade your libxfont packages.
Further information about Extended LTS security advisories can be found at: https://deb.freexian.com/extended-lts/.
