CVE-2008-5394 Path traversal in n/a
Local users in the utmp group can overwrite arbitrary files via symlink attacks on temporary files, potentially leading to privilege escalation.
- 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-2008-5394?
CVE-2008-5394 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 9 Dec 2008. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
/bin/login in shadow 4.0.18.1 in Debian GNU/Linux, and probably other Linux distributions, allows local users in the utmp group to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a temporary file referenced in a line (aka ut_line) field in a utmp entry.
Weakness: CWE-59
Which versions are affected by CVE-2008-5394?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Debian Shadow.
How do I fix CVE-2008-5394?
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-2008-5394 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2008-5394 exists.
Public exploit code: 1 Exploit-DB entry.
Other vulnerabilities in n/a
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2008-5394, DSA-1709-1, GHSA-5848-87gf-wvqv.