PT-2008-6166 · Canonical+1 · Initramfs-Tools+1

Stefan Behte · Published 2008-11-07 · Updated 2025-01-17 · CVE-2008-4996

Positive Technologies (AI Summary)

CVSS v3.1

5.5

Medium

Base vector

AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Name of the Vulnerable Software and Affected Versions initramfs-tools version 0.92f

Description The issue allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the /tmp/initramfs.debug temporary file. The vendor disputes this, stating that init is used in a single-user context and thus is not exploitable.

Recommendations For initramfs-tools version 0.92f, consider restricting access to the /tmp/initramfs.debug temporary file to prevent potential symlink attacks. As a temporary workaround, avoid using the init function in a multi-user context until the issue is resolved. At the moment, there is no information about a newer version that contains a fix for this vulnerability.

Exploit

Link Following

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-59

Related Identifiers

CVE-2008-4996

Affected Products

Debian

Initramfs-Tools

References · 13

• 🔥 http://dev.gentoo.org/~rbu/security/debiantemp/initramfs-tools · Exploit
• http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2008-4996 · Security Note
• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-4996 · Security Note
• https://osv.dev/vulnerability/DEBIAN-CVE-2008-4996 · Vendor Advisory
• https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/source-package/initramfs-tools · Vendor Advisory
• https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2008-4996 · Vendor Advisory
• https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2008-4996 · Vendor Advisory
• https://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=235770 · Note
• https://t.me/cvenotify/89605 · Telegram Post
• http://bugs.debian.org/496386 · Note
• https://packages.debian.org/src:initramfs-tools · Note
• http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2008/10/30/2 · Note
• https://t.me/cvenotify/107781 · Telegram Post