Vulnerabilities
Misconfiguration
Compliance
CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2008-5703

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

Published: Dec 22, 2008 | Modified: Apr 09, 2025
CVSS 3.x
N/A
Source:
NVD
CVSS 2.x
6.2 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu
LOW
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Additional information
NVDhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-5703
CWEhttps://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/59.html

gpsdrive (aka gpsdrive-scripts) 2.10~pre4 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the (a) /tmp/.smswatch or (b) /tmp/gpsdrivepos temporary file, related to (1) examples/gpssmswatch and (2) src/splash.c, different vectors than CVE-2008-4959 and CVE-2008-5380.

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
GpsdriveGpsdrive*2.10 (including)
GpsdriveGpsdrive1.32 (including)1.32 (including)
GpsdriveGpsdrive1.33 (including)1.33 (including)
GpsdriveGpsdrive2.09 (including)2.09 (including)
GpsdriveUbuntudapper*
GpsdriveUbuntugutsy*
GpsdriveUbuntuhardy*
GpsdriveUbuntuintrepid*
GpsdriveUbuntujaunty*
GpsdriveUbuntukarmic*
GpsdriveUbuntuupstream*

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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