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RApplication · R Foundation

CVE-2008-3931

MEDIUM · 6.9 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-09-04
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
74/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges Zero-click

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
javareconf in R 2.7.2 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on temporary files.

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 confidence

The javareconf utility in R 2.7.2 creates temporary files in a predictable manner without proper safeguards, allowing local attackers to replace those files with symlinks to overwrite arbitrary system files owned by the user running javareconf.

MitigationReplace the temporary file handling in javareconf with secure methods (e.g., mkstemp, O_EXCL flag, or atomic file operations) and ensure proper file permissions are set on temp files.

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
RApplication
Affected:= 2.7.2

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify R is installed
    Run 'R --version' or 'which R' to confirm R is present on the system
    Affected if R is not installed, this CVE does not apply
  2. Check installed R version
    Run 'R --version' and examine the output for the version number (e.g., R version 2.7.2)
    Affected if The version displayed is exactly 2.7.2 - other versions are not affected by this specific CVE
  3. Locate javareconf utility
    Run 'which javareconf' or search for javareconf in R's bin or bin/exec directories
    Affected if javareconf is present and the R version is 2.7.2, indicating the vulnerable utility exists
  4. Verify temp file behavior (if possible)
    Run 'javareconf' with debug output or strace/truss to observe temporary file creation in /tmp or /var/tmp
    Affected if Temporary files are created with predictable/predetermined names rather than using secure methods like mkstemp or O_EXCL

A defender is affected only if R version 2.7.2 is installed and the javareconf utility is present, creating predictable temporary files vulnerable to symlink attacks.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Replace the temporary file handling in javareconf with secure methods (e.g., mkstemp, O_EXCL flag, or atomic file operations) and ensure proper file permissions are set on temp files.

Fix this in R Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2008-3931 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data