# CVE-2005-0155: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can escalate privileges and create arbitrary files via the PERLIO_DEBUG variable in setuid-enabled Perl installations.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.6 (`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P`)
- **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:** 7 Feb 2005
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2005-0155, GHSA-wmj6-p2pm-q3w6

## What is CVE-2005-0155?

CVE-2005-0155 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 7 Feb 2005. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The PerlIO implementation in Perl 5.8.0, when installed with setuid support (sperl), allows local users to create arbitrary files via the PERLIO_DEBUG variable.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2005-0155?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Larry Wall Perl.

## How do I fix CVE-2005-0155?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2005-0155 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2005-0155 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Setuid perl - 'PerlIO_Debug()' Root Owned File Creation Privilege Escalation (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2007-5116](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-5116/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2005-4278](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-4278/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2000-0703](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0703/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2003-0900](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0900/): Weak cryptography in n/a (medium 5.0)
- [CVE-2004-0452](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0452/): Race condition in n/a (low 2.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2005-0155 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2005-0155 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 7 Feb 2005. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2005-0155 exists.

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-2005-0155/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-0155/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2005-0155
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2005-0155
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2005-0155

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-0155/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.