Vulnerabilities
Misconfiguration
Compliance
CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2008-4085

Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

Published: Sep 15, 2008 | Modified: Apr 09, 2025
CVSS 3.x
N/A
Source:
NVD
CVSS 2.x
4.4 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu
MEDIUM
Vulnerability-free packages from our partners
root.io logo minimus.io logo echo.ai logo
Additional information
NVDhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-4085
CWEhttps://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/59.html

plaiter in Plait before 1.6 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on (1) cut.$$, (2) head.$$, (3) awk.$$, and (4) ps.$$ temporary files in /tmp/.

Weakness

The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.

Affected Software

NameVendorStart VersionEnd Version
PlaitStephenjungels*1.5.2 (including)
PlaitStephenjungels0.50 (including)0.50 (including)
PlaitStephenjungels0.51 (including)0.51 (including)
PlaitStephenjungels0.52 (including)0.52 (including)
PlaitStephenjungels0.53 (including)0.53 (including)
PlaitStephenjungels0.54 (including)0.54 (including)
PlaitStephenjungels0.55 (including)0.55 (including)
PlaitStephenjungels0.55.1 (including)0.55.1 (including)
PlaitStephenjungels0.55.2 (including)0.55.2 (including)
PlaitStephenjungels0.99 (including)0.99 (including)
PlaitStephenjungels1.0 (including)1.0 (including)
PlaitStephenjungels1.1 (including)1.1 (including)
PlaitStephenjungels1.1.1 (including)1.1.1 (including)
PlaitStephenjungels1.2.1 (including)1.2.1 (including)
PlaitStephenjungels1.3 (including)1.3 (including)
PlaitStephenjungels1.4 (including)1.4 (including)
PlaitStephenjungels1.4.1 (including)1.4.1 (including)
PlaitStephenjungels1.4.2 (including)1.4.2 (including)
PlaitStephenjungels1.5 (including)1.5 (including)
PlaitStephenjungels1.5.1 (including)1.5.1 (including)
PlaitUbuntuupstream*

Potential Mitigations

  • Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to entities in a software system.
  • Denying access to a file can prevent an attacker from replacing that file with a link to a sensitive file. Ensure good compartmentalization in the system to provide protected areas that can be trusted.

References

Aqua Security is the largest pure-play cloud native security company, providing customers the freedom to innovate and run their businesses with minimal friction. The Aqua Cloud Native Security Platform provides prevention, detection, and response automation across the entire application lifecycle to secure the build, secure cloud infrastructure and secure running workloads wherever they are deployed.
Copyright © 2026 Aqua Security Software Ltd.   Privacy Policy | Terms of Use