# CVE-2008-5303: Race condition in n/a

> Local attackers can delete arbitrary files via a symlink race condition in the Perl File::Path module's rmtree function.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.9 (`AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **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 Dec 2008
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2008-5303, GHSA-4m3f-gxf5-6jm9

## What is CVE-2008-5303?

CVE-2008-5303 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 1 Dec 2008. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Race condition in the rmtree function in File::Path 1.08 (lib/File/Path.pm) in Perl 5.8.8 allows local users to to delete arbitrary files via a symlink attack, a different vulnerability than CVE-2005-0448, CVE-2004-0452, and CVE-2008-2827. NOTE: this is a regression error related to CVE-2005-0448. It is different from CVE-2008-5302 due to affected versions.

Weakness: CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2008-5303?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Perl File\.

## How do I fix CVE-2008-5303?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2008-5303 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2008-5303 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2008-5302](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-5302/): Race condition in n/a (medium 6.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2008-5303 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2008-5303 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 1 Dec 2008. 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-2008-5303 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-2008-5303/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-5303/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2008-5303
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-5303
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2008-5303

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-5303/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.