Citadel ServerApplication · Debian
CVE-2008-3930
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 · uneditedmigrate_aliases.sh in Citadel Server 7.37 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a temporary file.
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 confidenceThe migrate_aliases.sh script in Citadel Server 7.37 creates a temporary file in an insecure manner, allowing local users to perform a symlink attack. An attacker can create a symlink with the expected temporary filename pointing to an arbitrary file, causing the script to overwrite that file when executed.
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
Citadel ServerApplication
= 7.37CVSS 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
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/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 Citadel Server is installedRun: dpkg -l | grep citadel or rpm -qa | grep -i citadelAffected if The package version is exactly 7.37 (Debian) or if Citadel Server is installed at all on a system with untrusted local users
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Locate the migrate_aliases.sh scriptRun: find / -name 'migrate_aliases.sh' 2>/dev/nullAffected if The script exists on the system - this is the vulnerable component
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Check script permissions and ownershipRun: ls -la $(find / -name 'migrate_aliases.sh' 2>/dev/null)Affected if The script is writable by non-root users or accessible to untrusted local users (world-writable or group-writable)
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Check for suspicious symlinks in /tmpRun: ls -la /tmp/*migrate* /tmp/*alias* 2>/dev/null and examine any symlinks (ls -la /tmp/*)Affected if Any symlink exists with a name matching what migrate_aliases.sh uses for its temp file, pointing to sensitive files
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Examine script content for insecure temp file handlingRead the migrate_aliases.sh script and look for patterns like > /tmp/filename or temp files created without mktempAffected if The script uses insecure temporary file creation (e.g., redirecting to fixed paths like /tmp/aliases.tmp without mktemp)
A system is affected if Citadel Server 7.37 is installed and the migrate_aliases.sh script exists with permissions allowing untrusted local users to exploit the insecure temporary file creation via symlink attack.
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 temporary file creation with secure methods such as mktemp or use a unique temporary directory with proper permissions. Restrict access to the script in environments with untrusted local users.
Fix this in Citadel Server
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-3930 — 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-2008-3930 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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