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CVE-2008-5157
tau 2.16.4 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a (1) /tmp/makefile.tau.*.##### or (2)…
Medium6.9EPSS 0.40%
- Published
- Updated
- Reserved
- Assigned by
- mitre
Description
tau 2.16.4 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a (1) /tmp/makefile.tau.*.##### or (2) /tmp/makefile.tau*.##### temporary file, related to the (a) tau_cxx, (b) tau_f90, and (c) tau_cc scripts.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVDNVD · Modified | 2.0 | Medium6.9 | AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 0.40% · top 65% of all CVEs (4 Nov 2026)
Loading the EPSS history…
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Medium 6.9.
Weakness
Affected products
n/a
- affected n/a
References (6)
- http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=506348 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- [debian-devel] 20080813 Re: Possible mass bug filing: The possibility of attack with the help of symlinks in some Debian packages (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTx_transferred
- http://uvw.ru/report.sid.txt (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- 32821 (opens in a new tab)third-party-advisoryx_refsource_SECUNIAx_transferred
- tau-multiple-scripts-symlink(46704) (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_XFx_transferred
- 32404 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDx_transferred
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
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[](https://trackcve.app/cve/CVE-2008-5157)Record last updated .