VulnerabilityModified

CVE-2011-4089

The bzexe command in bzip2 1.0.5 and earlier generates compressed executables that do not properly handle temporary files during extraction, which allows local users to execute arbitrary code by precreating a temporary directory.

EXPLOIT ✓MEDIUM 4.6EPSS 1.04%

Does this matter?

A public exploit is published in Exploit-DB (verified), so the technical barrier is gone even though the severity is medium and EPSS is 1.0%. Treat it as high on anything reachable from the internet.

Description

CVSS 2.0: 4.6 MEDIUMAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
EPSS: 1.04% probability · 64th percentile
Public exploits: 1 in Exploit-DB · verified · first 23 November 2011
CISA KEV: Not listed
Weakness: CWE-264
Affected: bzip/bzip2
Source: secalert@redhat.com

EPSS trend

EPSS 1.0% since 26 October 2026; no change recorded yet. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.

Public exploits (1)

Entries in Exploit-DB that cite this CVE. Links go to the Exploit-DB page and to the file in the public repository; nothing is hosted here. A verified tick means the Exploit-DB team confirmed the exploit works against the stated version.

EDB-ID	Title	Type	Published	Verified
EDB-18147 source ↗	bzexe (bzip2) - Race Conditionlinux · vladz	local	23 November 2011	yes

References

Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.