CVE-2008-5367
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 · uneditedip-up in ppp-udeb 2.4.4rel on Debian GNU/Linux allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the /tmp/resolv.conf.tmp 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 ip-up script in ppp-udeb 2.4.4rel creates a temporary file at /tmp/resolv.conf.tmp without proper symlink protection. A local attacker can create a symlink at this path before the script runs, causing the script to write resolv.conf content to an arbitrary target file (owned by root) when the script executes.
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= 2.4.4CVSS 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.
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Check if ppp-udeb package is installedRun 'dpkg -l ppp-udeb' or 'dpkg -l | grep ppp-udeb' to list the installed package and its versionAffected if The package is installed and the version is 2.4.4 or if version cannot be determined but ppp-udeb is present
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Locate the ip-up scriptRun 'dpkg -L ppp-udeb | grep ip-up' to find the path to the ip-up script in the packageAffected if The ip-up script exists in the installation
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Inspect the script for vulnerable temp file creationExamine the ip-up script for the string '/tmp/resolv.conf.tmp' and verify if it uses insecure methods (direct redirection or open without O_EXCL) instead of mktemp or atomic operationsAffected if The script contains '/tmp/resolv.conf.tmp' without proper symlink protection (no mktemp, no O_EXCL, no file locking)
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Verify the script is executable in your environmentCheck if the ip-up script is placed in a directory where it will be executed (such as /etc/ppp/ip-up or within the ppp-udeb runtime path)Affected if The script is deployed and executable in the system's PPP configuration path
Your environment is affected if ppp-udeb version 2.4.4 is installed and the ip-up script uses /tmp/resolv.conf.tmp without proper symlink protection mechanisms.
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 safe methods such as mktemp(1) or use atomic file operations (e.g., O_EXCL flag with open() or tempfile module). Verify the fix handles race conditions between file check and creation.
- 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-2008-5367 — 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-2008-5367 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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- 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
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