CVE-2008-4996

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Summary

CVECVE-2008-4996
StatePUBLISHED
Assignermitre
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2008-11-07 19:36:23 UTC
Updated2026-04-23 00:35:47 UTC
Descriptioninit in initramfs-tools 0.92f allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the /tmp/initramfs.debug temporary file. NOTE: the vendor disputes this vulnerability, stating that "init is [used in] a single-user context; there's no possibility that this is exploitable.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 5.5 MEDIUM from ADP

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Problem Types: CWE-59 | n/a | CWE-59 CWE-59 Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1ADPDECLARED5.5MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
3.1134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0Secondary5.5MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
2.0[email protected]Primary6.9AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

CVSS v2.0 Breakdown

Access Vector
Local
Access Complexity
Medium
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)

TypeVendorProductVersionUpdateEditionLanguage
Application Debian Initramfs-tools 0.92f All All All

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Na N/a affected n/a Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
oss-security - CVE requests: tempfile issues for aview, mgetty, openoffice, crossfire af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 www.openwall.com
235770 – (debian-tempfile) [Tracker] Tempfile issues found in Debian af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 bugs.gentoo.org
404 Not Found af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 dev.gentoo.org Exploit
#496386 - The possibility of attack with the help of symlinks in some Debian packages - Debian Bug report logs af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 bugs.debian.org
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