/bin/login in shadow 4.0.18.1 in Debian GNU/Linux, and probably other Linux distributions, allows local users in the utmp group to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a temporary file referenced in a line (aka ut_line) field in a utmp entry
Published Dec 9, 2008
7.2
HIGHCVSS 2.0
EPSS 0.95%
Description
/bin/login in shadow 4.0.18.1 in Debian GNU/Linux, and probably other Linux distributions, allows local users in the utmp group to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a temporary file referenced in a line (aka ut_line) field in a utmp entry.
Affected products
Remediation
Red Hat statement
Not vulnerable. This issue did not affect the versions of the util-linux packages (providing /bin/login), as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1, 3, 4 or 5.
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:L/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 (9 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 0.95% (0.00949) | 59.80th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 0.95% (0.00949) | 56.42th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 0.08% (0.00083) | 21.97th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 0.04% (0.00043) | 11.55th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jun 12, 2024 | 0.04% (0.00043) | 9.63th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.04% (0.00043) | 7.62th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 3.22% (0.03220) | 84.21th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Apr 1, 2022 | 3.22% (0.03220) | 82.61th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 3.22% (0.03220) | 65.30th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
References (15)
- http://bugs.debian.org/332198 x_refsource_CONFIRM
- http://bugs.debian.org/505071 x_refsource_CONFIRM
- http://bugs.debian.org/505271 x_refsource_CONFIRM
- http://osvdb.org/52200 vdb-entryx_refsource_OSVDB
- http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200903-24.xml vendor-advisoryx_refsource_GENTOO
- http://securityreason.com/securityalert/4695 third-party-advisoryx_refsource_SREASON
- http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2009:062 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_MANDRIVA
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/498769/100/0/threaded mailing-listx_refsource_BUGTRAQ
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/32552 vdb-entryx_refsource_BID
- http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-695-1 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTU
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2008-5394 Vendor Advisory
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/47037 vdb-entryx_refsource_XF
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-5394
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2008-5394
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/7313 exploitx_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.