CVE-2008-4996

    Dashboard / Vulnerabilities / CVE-2008-4996

    CVE-2008-4996

    Published: 7 Nov 2008Last Modified: 10 Apr 2026

    Summary:

    Details: init in initramfs-tools 0.92f allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the /tmp/initramfs.debug temporary file. NOTE: the vendor disputes this vulnerability, stating that "init is [used in] a single-user context; there's no possibility that this is exploitable.

    References: http://dev.gentoo.org/~rbu/security/debiantemp/initramfs-tools, http://bugs.debian.org/496386, http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2008/10/30/2, https://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=235770

    Affected packages

    Common Vulnerability Scoring System

    Attack Vector
    Network
    Adjacent
    Local
    Physical
    Privileges Required
    None
    Low
    High
    User Interaction
    None
    Required
    Scope
    Unchanged
    Changed
    Confidentiality
    None
    Low
    High
    Integrity
    None
    Low
    High
    Availability
    None
    Low
    High