CVE-2008-4476
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 · uneditedsympa.pl in sympa 5.3.4 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the /tmp/sympa_aliases.$$ temporary file. NOTE: wwsympa.fcgi was also reported, but the issue occurred in a dead function, so it is not a vulnerability.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceSympa 5.3.4 contains a symlink vulnerability in sympa.pl where the temporary file /tmp/sympa_aliases.$$ uses a predictable name based on the process ID ($$), allowing local users to pre-create a symlink and cause arbitrary file overwrite when the application writes to the file.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 5.3.4CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Identify Sympa installation and versionRun 'sympa --version' or check package manager (dpkg -l | grep sympa, rpm -qa | grep sympa) to determine if Sympa version 5.3.4 is installedAffected if Sympa version 5.3.4 is confirmed installed
-
Locate the sympa.pl scriptFind the main Sympa CGI script, typically at /usr/lib/cgi-bin/sympa/sympa.pl or /var/lib/sympa/bin/sympa.pl depending on installationAffected if The file exists and is readable for inspection
-
Inspect temporary file creation codeSearch the sympa.pl file for the pattern '/tmp/sympa_aliases.$$' or '$$' combined with temporary file creation (grep -n 'sympa_aliases' /path/to/sympa.pl)Affected if Code contains the vulnerable /tmp/sympa_aliases.$$ pattern using process ID for temporary file naming
-
Verify file permissions on /tmpCheck /tmp directory permissions with 'ls -la / | grep tmp' and verify if other users can write (ls -la /tmp)Affected if The /tmp directory is world-writable (drwxrwxrwt) allowing untrusted users to create files there
-
Check for recent access or creation of symlink in /tmpList files in /tmp for any 'sympa_aliases.*' entries: 'ls -la /tmp/sympa_aliases*' and look for symlinks (file /tmp/sympa_aliases.*)Affected if A symlink named /tmp/sympa_aliases.[pid] exists pointing to an unintended target
A user is affected if Sympa 5.3.4 is installed AND the vulnerable temporary file creation pattern using /tmp/sympa_aliases.$$ exists in the codebase, with /tmp having permissive permissions allowing symlink pre-creation.
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 vulnerable temporary file creation with secure methods such as mkstemp() or O_EXCL flag, or use a dedicated temporary directory with restricted permissions.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 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 $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-4476 — 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-2008-4476 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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