CVE-2008-4936 Path traversal in n/a

Medium 6.9 Published 5 Nov 2008 Updated 7 Aug 2024

Local attackers can overwrite arbitrary files via symlink attacks on temporary files in mgetty's faxspool utility.

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

What is CVE-2008-4936?

CVE-2008-4936 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 5 Nov 2008. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

faxspool in mgetty 1.1.36 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a /tmp/faxsp.##### temporary file.

Weakness: CWE-59

Which versions are affected by CVE-2008-4936?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Gert Doering Mgetty.

How do I fix CVE-2008-4936?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.

Is CVE-2008-4936 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2008-4936 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Sources

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2008-4936, GHSA-9r8x-j9wv-wvqv.