# CVE-2006-5215: Path traversal in n/a

> Local attackers can overwrite arbitrary files or read other users' Xsession errors via a symlink attack on a temporary file in X Display Manager.

- **Severity:** Low 2.6 (`AV:L/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/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:** 9 Oct 2006
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2006-5215, GHSA-m3qf-v679-cpx6

## What is CVE-2006-5215?

CVE-2006-5215 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in Netbsd Netbsd, published on 9 Oct 2006. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Xsession script, as used by X Display Manager (xdm) in NetBSD before 20060212, X.Org before 20060317, and Solaris 8 through 10 before 20061006, allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files, or read another user's Xsession errors file, via a symlink attack on a /tmp/xses-$USER file.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2006-5215?

It affects 4 products.


Products: Netbsd Netbsd, Sun Solaris, Sun Sunos, X.org Xdm.

## How do I fix CVE-2006-5215?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2006-5215 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2006-5215 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Netbsd Netbsd

- [CVE-2017-1000374](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-1000374/): Security feature bypass in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-1000375](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-1000375/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-1000378](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-1000378/): Denial of service in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2015-8212](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-8212/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2008-3584](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-3584/): Denial of service in n/a (critical 9.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2006-5215 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2006-5215 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in Netbsd Netbsd, published on 9 Oct 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-2006-5215 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Netbsd Netbsd. 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-2006-5215/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-5215/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2006-5215
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2006-5215
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2006-5215

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-5215/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.