CVE-2007-3919
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · unedited(1) xenbaked and (2) xenmon.py in Xen 3.1 and earlier allow local users to truncate arbitrary files via a symlink attack on /tmp/xenq-shm.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidencexenbaked and xenmon.py in Xen 3.1 and earlier use an insecure temporary file path /tmp/xenq-shm without proper validation, allowing local users to perform a symlink attack that can truncate arbitrary files on the system.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 3.0.3_0_1= 3.0.3_0_3CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- Single
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:M/Au:S/C:N/I:C/A:C
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if xenbaked exists on the systemLocate the xenbaked binary using 'which xenbaked' or 'find / -name xenbaked 2>/dev/null'Affected if The xenbaked binary is found and belongs to an affected Xen version (3.0.3_0_1 or 3.0.3_0_3)
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Check if xenmon.py exists on the systemLocate the xenmon.py script using 'which xenmon.py' or 'find / -name xenmon.py 2>/dev/null'Affected if The xenmon.py script is found and belongs to an affected Xen version (3.0.3_0_1 or 3.0.3_0_3)
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Verify the installed Xen versionRun 'xm info' or check the Xen package version with 'rpm -q xen' or 'dpkg -l xen' depending on your Linux distributionAffected if The installed version matches 3.0.3_0_1 or 3.0.3_0_3, or is 3.1/earlier
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Inspect the source or binary for the vulnerable /tmp/xenq-shm pathIf source is available, search for '/tmp/xenq-shm' in the xenbaked source code or xenmon.py script; for binaries, use 'strings' or 'grep' to search for this path stringAffected if The code references /tmp/xenq-shm without using secure temporary file handling (e.g., mkstemp)
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Check for existing /tmp/xenq-shm file and its permissionsRun 'ls -la /tmp/xenq-shm' to see if the file exists and examine its ownership and permissionsAffected if The file exists and is owned by a different user than the one running xenbaked/xenmon, indicating potential symlink attack risk
You are affected if you are running Xen 3.1 or earlier (specifically 3.0.3_0_1 or 3.0.3_0_3) and the xenbaked binary or xenmon.py script is installed and uses the insecure /tmp/xenq-shm temporary file path.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataReplace the insecure /tmp/xenq-shm usage with secure temporary file handling (e.g., mkstemp() or a uniquely named file in a protected directory with appropriate permissions) to prevent symlink attacks.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2007-3919 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2007-3919 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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