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JailerApplication · Javier Fernandez

CVE-2008-5139

MEDIUM · 6.9 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-11-18
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
updatejail in jailer 0.4 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a /tmp/#####.updatejail 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 confidence

The updatejail script in jailer 0.4 creates temporary files in /tmp using predictable names (#####.updatejail) without proper symlink protection. A local attacker can pre-create a symlink with the same name before the program runs, causing updatejail to write to an arbitrary file owned by the user running the script, leading to potential privilege escalation or data corruption.

MitigationReplace the insecure temporary file creation with secure methods such as using the O_EXCL flag, mkstemp(), or File::Temp (Perl). If a patched version of jailer is available, upgrade to it. Otherwise, avoid running updatejail in multi-user environments with untrusted local users.

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
JailerApplication
Affected:= 0.4

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. Check if jailer is installed
    Locate the jailer package or scripts on the system. Common paths: /usr/bin/jailer, /usr/local/bin/jailer, or check package manager (dpkg -l | grep jailer, rpm -qa | grep jailer)
    Affected if jailer package or any jailer scripts are found on the system
  2. Identify the jailer version
    Run jailer with version flag (jailer --version) or check the package version installed. For the script version, examine the updatejail script header for version comments
    Affected if The installed version is 0.4 or if version cannot be determined but the updatejail script is present
  3. Locate the updatejail script and verify it exists
    Search for the updatejail script: find / -name 'updatejail' -type f 2>/dev/null. Common locations include /usr/share/jailer/updatejail or within the jailer installation directory
    Affected if The updatejail script is found on the system
  4. Inspect the temporary file creation in updatejail
    Open the updatejail script and search for temporary file operations. Look for patterns that write to /tmp without O_EXCL or mkstemp. Specifically check for any line that writes to /tmp/#####.updatejail where ##### appears to be a predictable pattern (e.g., using PID or timestamp without secure random)
    Affected if The script uses predictable temporary file names in /tmp (#####.updatejail pattern) without O_EXCL flag, mkstemp(), or similar secure methods
  5. Check /tmp for existing symlinks with the vulnerable pattern
    List files in /tmp that match the pattern: ls -la /tmp/*.updatejail 2>/dev/null. Also check for any symlinks in /tmp that could indicate prior exploitation
    Affected if Any .updatejail files or symlinks exist in /tmp, especially if they are symlinks pointing to sensitive files

A system is affected if jailer version 0.4 is installed and the updatejail script exists with the insecure temporary file creation using predictable names in /tmp.

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 insecure temporary file creation with secure methods such as using the O_EXCL flag, mkstemp(), or File::Temp (Perl). If a patched version of jailer is available, upgrade to it. Otherwise, avoid running updatejail in multi-user environments with untrusted local users.

Fix this in Jailer 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-2008-5139 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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