# CVE-2004-0970: Path traversal in n/a

> Local attackers can overwrite arbitrary files via symlink attacks on temporary files in gzip scripts, requiring local access.

- **Severity:** Low 2.1 (`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 20 Oct 2004
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2004-0970, DSA-588-1, GHSA-2jrh-9rrj-2f59

## What is CVE-2004-0970?

CVE-2004-0970 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 20 Oct 2004. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The (1) gzexe, (2) zdiff, and (3) znew scripts in the gzip package, as used by other packages such as ncompress, allows local users to overwrite files via a symlink attack on temporary files.  NOTE: the znew vulnerability may overlap CVE-2003-0367.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2004-0970?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Gnu Gzip.

## How do I fix CVE-2004-0970?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2004-0970 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2004-0970 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2004-0603](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0603/): Command injection in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2001-1228](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2001-1228/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2026-41992](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-41992/): Global Buffer Overflow in GNU gzip (medium 6.9)
- [CVE-2009-2624](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-2624/): Memory corruption in n/a (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2010-0001](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-0001/): Integer overflow in n/a (medium 6.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2004-0970 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2004-0970 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 20 Oct 2004. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2004-0970 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0970/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0970/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2004-0970
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2004-0970
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2004-0970

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0970/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.