CVE-2008-5374 Path traversal in n/a

Medium 6.9 Published 8 Dec 2008 Updated 7 Aug 2024

Local attackers can overwrite arbitrary files via symlink attacks on temporary files in bash documentation scripts.

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-2008-5374?

CVE-2008-5374 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 8 Dec 2008. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

bash-doc 3.2 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a /tmp/cb#####.? temporary file, related to the (1) aliasconv.sh, (2) aliasconv.bash, and (3) cshtobash scripts.

Weakness: CWE-59

Which versions are affected by CVE-2008-5374?

It affects 1 product.

Linux distribution packages (12)

`bash` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::as	All versions	`0:3.0-27.el4`
`bash-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::as	All versions	`0:3.0-27.el4`
`bash` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::desktop	All versions	`0:3.0-27.el4`
`bash-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::desktop	All versions	`0:3.0-27.el4`
`bash` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::es	All versions	`0:3.0-27.el4`
`bash-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::es	All versions	`0:3.0-27.el4`
`bash` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::ws	All versions	`0:3.0-27.el4`
`bash-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::ws	All versions	`0:3.0-27.el4`
`bash` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client	All versions	`0:3.2-32.el5`
`bash-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client	All versions	`0:3.2-32.el5`
`bash` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server	All versions	`0:3.2-32.el5`
`bash-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server	All versions	`0:3.2-32.el5`

Products include Matthias Klose Bash-Doc.

How do I fix CVE-2008-5374?

Apply the vendor's patch.

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

Is CVE-2008-5374 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2008-5374 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Sources

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2008-5374, GHSA-g9rc-p3rq-j6mc, RHSA-2011:0261, RHSA-2011:1073.