Race condition in the symlink function in PHP 5.1.6 and earlier allows local users to bypass the open_basedir restriction by using a combination of symlink, mkdir, and unlink functions to change the file path after the open_basedir check and before the file is opened by the underlying system, as demonstrated by symlinking a symlink into a subdirectory, to point to a parent directory via .
Published Oct 6, 2006
6.2
MEDIUMCVSS 2.0
EPSS 0.66%
Description
Race condition in the symlink function in PHP 5.1.6 and earlier allows local users to bypass the open_basedir restriction by using a combination of symlink, mkdir, and unlink functions to change the file path after the open_basedir check and before the file is opened by the underlying system, as demonstrated by symlinking a symlink into a subdirectory, to point to a parent directory via .. (dot dot) sequences, and then unlinking the resulting symlink.
Affected products
No data.
- ≤ 5.1.6
- 4.0
- 4.0.1
- 4.0.1
- 4.0.1
- 4.0.2
- 4.0.3
- 4.0.4
- 4.0.5
- 4.0.6
- 4.0.7
- 4.0.7
- 4.0.7
- 4.0.7
- 4.1.0
- 4.1.1
- 4.1.2
- 4.2
- 4.2.0
- 4.2.1
- 4.2.2
- 4.2.3
- 4.3.0
- 4.3.1
- 4.3.2
- 4.3.3
- 4.3.4
- 4.3.5
- 4.3.6
- 4.3.7
- 4.3.8
- 4.3.9
- 4.3.10
- 4.3.11
- 4.4.0
- 4.4.1
- 4.4.2
- 4.4.3
- 4.4.4
- 5.0
- 5.0
- 5.0
- 5.0.0
- 5.0.1
- 5.0.2
- 5.0.3
- 5.0.4
- 5.0.5
- 5.1.0
- 5.1.1
- 5.1.2
- 5.1.3
- 5.1.4
- 5.1.5
No data.
No Red Hat product state for this CVE.
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat statement
We do not consider these to be security issues. For more details see http://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=169857#c1 and http://www.php.net/security-note.php
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.1 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.0 score for this CVE.
AV:L/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
No CISA SSVC assessment for this CVE yet.
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 1, 2026.
Score over time
2022–2026- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Percentile over time
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Table of values (12 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 0.66% (0.00658) | 49.67th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 0.64% (0.00635) | 45.49th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 0.08% (0.00083) | 21.78th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 0.05% (0.00053) | 23.03th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jun 11, 2024 | 0.05% (0.00053) | 20.93th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Apr 17, 2024 | 0.05% (0.00051) | 18.60th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Apr 2, 2024 | 0.05% (0.00049) | 16.16th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.05% (0.00047) | 14.16th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 1.55% (0.01547) | 74.98th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 23, 2023 | 1.55% (0.01547) | 74.94th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Apr 1, 2022 | 1.55% (0.01547) | 72.92th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 1.55% (0.01547) | 51.82th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
References (18)
- http://lists.grok.org.uk/pipermail/full-disclosure/2006-October/049850.html mailing-listx_refsource_FULLDISCExploit
- http://secunia.com/advisories/22235 third-party-advisoryx_refsource_SECUNIAExploitVendor Advisory
- http://secunia.com/advisories/22424 third-party-advisoryx_refsource_SECUNIA
- http://securityreason.com/securityalert/1692 third-party-advisoryx_refsource_SREASON
- http://securitytracker.com/id?1016977 vdb-entryx_refsource_SECTRACKExploit
- http://www.hardened-php.net/advisory_082006.132.html x_refsource_MISCExploitVendor Advisory
- http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDKSA-2006:185 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_MANDRIVA
- http://www.neosecurityteam.net/index.php?action=advisories&id=26 x_refsource_MISC
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/447649/100/0/threaded mailing-listx_refsource_BUGTRAQ
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/448020/100/0/threaded mailing-listx_refsource_BUGTRAQ
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/448953/100/0/threaded vendor-advisoryx_refsource_OPENPKG
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/20326 vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDExploit
- http://www.turbolinux.com/security/2006/TLSA-2006-38.txt vendor-advisoryx_refsource_TURBO
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2006/3901 vdb-entryx_refsource_VUPEN
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2006-5178 Vendor Advisory
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/29340 vdb-entryx_refsource_XF
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2006-5178
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2006-5178
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.