groff: roff2.pl and groffer.pl use easy-to-guess temporary file names
Published Jun 30, 2011
3.3
LOWCVSS 2.0
EPSS 0.29%
Description
The (1) config.guess, (2) contrib/groffer/perl/groffer.pl, and (3) contrib/groffer/perl/roff2.pl scripts in GNU troff (aka groff) 1.21 and earlier use an insufficient number of X characters in the template argument to the tempfile function, which makes it easier for local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a temporary file, a different vulnerability than CVE-2004-0969.
Affected products
No data.
- ≤ 1.21
- 1.10
- 1.11
- 1.11a
- 1.14
- 1.15
- 1.16
- 1.16.1
- 1.17.1
- 1.17.2
- 1.18.1
- 1.19
- 1.19.1
- 1.19.2
- 1.20
- 1.20.1
No data.
No Red Hat product state for this CVE.
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat statement
Not vulnerable. This issue did not affect the versions of groff as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4, 5, or 6.
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:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P
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 3, 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 3, 2026 | 0.29% (0.00295) | 20.14th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 0.29% (0.00295) | 20.95th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 0.12% (0.00117) | 28.09th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 0.04% (0.00042) | 5.07th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.04% (0.00042) | 5.63th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 0.95% (0.00950) | 32.28th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Sep 10, 2022 | 0.95% (0.00950) | 30.63th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Apr 1, 2022 | 0.95% (0.00950) | 28.61th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 0.95% (0.00950) | 13.46th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
References (9)
- http://cvsweb.openwall.com/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/Owl/packages/groff/groff-1.20.1-owl-tmp.diff x_refsource_CONFIRMPatch
- http://cvsweb.openwall.com/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/Owl/packages/groff/groff-1.20.1-owl-tmp.diff.diff?r1=1.1%3Br2=1.2%3Bf=h x_refsource_CONFIRM
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/08/14/4 mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTPatch
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/08/14/5 mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTPatch
- http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2013:086 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_MANDRIVA
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2009-5081 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=720057 Issue Tracking
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-5081
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-5081
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| http://cvsweb.openwall.com/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/Owl/packages/groff/groff-1.20.1-owl-tmp.diff | x_refsource_CONFIRMPatch | |
| http://cvsweb.openwall.com/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/Owl/packages/groff/groff-1.20.1-owl-tmp.diff.diff?r1=1.1%3Br2=1.2%3Bf=h | x_refsource_CONFIRM | |
| http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/08/14/4 | mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTPatch | |
| http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/08/14/5 | mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTPatch | |
| http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2013:086 | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_MANDRIVA | |
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2009-5081 | Vendor Advisory | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=720057 | Issue Tracking | |
| https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-5081 | ||
| https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-5081 |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.