# CVE-2005-0988: Race condition in n/a

> Local attackers can exploit a race condition in gzip to modify permissions of arbitrary files via hard link attacks during decompression.

- **Severity:** Low 3.7 (`AV:L/AC:H/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:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 6 Apr 2005
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2005-0988, GHSA-pmqf-rc4m-6f55

## What is CVE-2005-0988?

CVE-2005-0988 is a low-severity vulnerability in Freebsd Freebsd, published on 6 Apr 2005. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Race condition in gzip 1.2.4, 1.3.3, and earlier, when decompressing a gzipped file, allows local users to modify permissions of arbitrary files via a hard link attack on a file while it is being decompressed, whose permissions are changed by gzip after the decompression is complete.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2005-0988?

It affects 13 products.


Products: Freebsd Freebsd, Gentoo Linux, Gnu Gzip, Redhat Enterprise Linux, Redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop, Redhat Linux Advanced Workstation, Trustix Secure Linux, Turbolinux Turbolinux Appliance Server, Turbolinux Turbolinux Desktop, Turbolinux Turbolinux Home, Turbolinux Turbolinux Server, Turbolinux Turbolinux Workstation, Ubuntu Ubuntu Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2005-0988?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2005-0988 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2005-0988 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Freebsd Freebsd

- [CVE-2018-17160](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-17160/): Memory corruption in FreeBSD (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2014-3954](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-3954/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2006-4304](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-4304/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2006-0226](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-0226/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2004-0002](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0002/): Denial of service in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2005-0988 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2005-0988 is a low-severity vulnerability in Freebsd Freebsd, published on 6 Apr 2005. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2005-0988 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Freebsd Freebsd. 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-2005-0988/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-0988/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2005-0988
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2005-0988
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2005-0988

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-0988/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.