{"id":"CVE-2008-4996","url":"https://www.cyber-defence.io/tools/cve/CVE-2008-4996","generatedAt":"2026-10-27T20:51:37.496Z","title":"init in initramfs-tools 0.92f allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the /tmp/initramfs.debug temporary file.","description":"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.","published":"2008-11-07T19:36:24.000Z","lastModified":"2026-06-16T22:58:55.000Z","status":"Modified","sourceIdentifier":"cve@mitre.org","cvss":{"version":"3.1","score":5.5,"severity":"MEDIUM","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N"},"cwe":["CWE-59"],"affected":["debian/initramfs-tools"],"epss":{"score":0.00434,"percentile":0.37476,"date":"2026-10-26","history":[]},"kev":{"listed":false},"exploits":{"count":0,"verified":false,"firstPublished":null,"source":"Exploit-DB (https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb)","entries":[]},"verdict":{"level":"low","text":"Lower severity and a low EPSS score (0.43%). Track it; it rarely justifies an emergency change on its own."},"changes":[],"references":[{"url":"http://bugs.debian.org/496386","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://dev.gentoo.org/~rbu/security/debiantemp/initramfs-tools","tags":["Exploit"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2008/10/30/2","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=235770","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://bugs.debian.org/496386","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://dev.gentoo.org/~rbu/security/debiantemp/initramfs-tools","tags":["Exploit"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2008/10/30/2","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=235770","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"}],"sources":{"nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2008-4996","epss":"https://www.first.org/epss/","kev":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","exploitdb":"https://www.exploit-db.com/"},"licence":"CC BY 4.0 — link back to the CVE Explorer if you publish the results; upstream data remains subject to its own terms."}