Vulnerabilities
Misconfiguration
Compliance
CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2008-5394

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

Published: Dec 09, 2008 | Modified: Apr 09, 2025
CVSS 3.x
N/A
Source:
NVD
CVSS 2.x
7.2 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu
MEDIUM
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Additional information
NVDhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-5394
CWEhttps://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/59.html

/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

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
ShadowDebian4.0.18.1 (including)4.0.18.1 (including)
ShadowUbuntudapper*
ShadowUbuntudevel*
ShadowUbuntugutsy*
ShadowUbuntuhardy*
ShadowUbuntuintrepid*
ShadowUbuntuupstream*

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

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