CVE-2008-4580
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 · uneditedfence_manual, as used in fence 2.02.00-r1 and possibly cman, allows local users to modify arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the fence_manual.fifo 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 · moderate confidencefence_manual in fence 2.02.00-r1 (and possibly cman) creates a temporary FIFO file (fence_manual.fifo) without proper safeguards against symlink attacks. A local attacker can create a symlink at the expected temp file location pointing to an arbitrary target file, causing fence_manual to overwrite or modify that file when it opens the FIFO.
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= 2.02.00= 2.02.00CVSS 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
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:L/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 fence or cman package is installedRun `equery list fence` or `equery list cman` on Gentoo to list installed fence/cman packages, or use `rpm -qa | grep -i fence` on RPM-based systemsAffected if fence or cman package version 2.02.00-r1 or 2.02.00 is installed
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Identify fence_manual binary locationRun `which fence_manual` or `find /usr -name fence_manual -type f` to locate the fence_manual binaryAffected if fence_manual binary exists on the system
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Determine the temporary directory used by fence_manualReview fence_manual source code or man page, or run `strace -f fence_manual --help 2>&1 | grep -i tmp` to observe temporary file creation behaviorAffected if fence_manual creates FIFO files in a world-writable directory without O_EXCL protection
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Check for existing FIFO file or symlink at expected locationLook for /var/lib/fence/fence_manual.fifo or check the directory used for temp files for any pre-existing FIFO files or symlinksAffected if A FIFO file or symlink named fence_manual.fifo already exists in the temp directory
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Check directory permissions where FIFO would be createdRun `ls -ld` on the directory where fence_manual creates its temp files (e.g., /var/lib/fence or /tmp)Affected if The directory is world-writable and allows unprivileged users to create files/symlinks
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Verify if fence_manual has been run recentlyCheck /var/log/messages, audit logs, or use `ls -la` on potential temp directories for recent fence_manual.fifo filesAffected if fence_manual.fifo was recently created and the directory lacks proper access controls
A user is affected if fence_manual version 2.02.00 is installed and creates FIFO files in a directory where unprivileged local users can create symlinks (such as /tmp or unprotected /var/lib/fence), allowing file overwrite 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 dataModify the temporary file creation to use open() with O_EXCL flag or equivalent to fail if a file already exists at the target path, preventing symlink hijacking. Alternatively, use a secure temporary directory with restricted permissions.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-4580 — 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-2008-4580 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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