# CVE-2005-4536: Path traversal in n/a

> Local attackers can overwrite arbitrary files via symlink attacks on predictable log filenames when logging is enabled without a default log file.

- **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:** 1 Feb 2006
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DSA-960-3, GHSA-h7vp-qvfw-h2f3

## What is CVE-2005-4536?

CVE-2005-4536 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 1 Feb 2006. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Mail::Audit module in libmail-audit-perl 2.1-5, when logging is enabled without a default log file specified, uses predictable log filenames, which allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the [PID]-audit.log temporary file.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2005-4536?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Debian Libmail-Audit-Perl.

## How do I fix CVE-2005-4536?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2005-4536 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2005-4536 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2005-4536 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2005-4536 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 1 Feb 2006. 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-2005-4536 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-2005-4536/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-4536/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2005-4536
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2005-4536
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2005-4536

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-4536/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.