CVE-2008-5394

Public Exploit

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.

Category

7.2
CVSS
Severity: High
CVSS 2.0 •
EPSS 0.08%
Vendor Advisory gentoo.org Vendor Advisory mandriva.com Vendor Advisory ubuntu.com
Affected: n/a n/a
Published at:
Updated at:

References

Link Tags
http://osvdb.org/52200 vdb entry
http://bugs.debian.org/505271
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/32552 vdb entry
http://bugs.debian.org/332198
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/47037 vdb entry
http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200903-24.xml vendor advisory
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2009:062 vendor advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/498769/100/0/threaded mailing list
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/7313 exploit
http://securityreason.com/securityalert/4695 third party advisory
http://bugs.debian.org/505071
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-695-1 vendor advisory

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the severity of CVE-2008-5394?
CVE-2008-5394 has been scored as a high severity vulnerability.
How to fix CVE-2008-5394?
To fix CVE-2008-5394, make sure you are using an up-to-date version of the affected component(s) by checking the vendor release notes. As for now, there are no other specific guidelines available.
Is CVE-2008-5394 being actively exploited in the wild?
It is possible that CVE-2008-5394 is being exploited or will be exploited in a near future based on public information. According to its EPSS score, there is a ~0% probability that this vulnerability will be exploited by malicious actors in the next 30 days.
This platform uses data from the NIST NVD, MITRE CVE, MITRE CWE, First.org and CISA KEV but is not endorsed or certified by these entities. CVE is a registred trademark of the MITRE Corporation and the authoritative source of CVE content is MITRE's CVE web site. CWE is a registred trademark of the MITRE Corporation and the authoritative source of CWE content is MITRE's CWE web site.
© 2025 Under My Watch. All Rights Reserved.