Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2009-5081

The (1) config.guess, (2) contrib/groffer/perl/groffer.pl, and (3) contrib/groffer/perl/roff2.pl scripts in GNU troff (aka groff) 1.21 and earlier use an insufficient number of X characters in the template argument to the tempfile function, which makes it easier for local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a temporary file, a different vulnerability than CVE-2004-0969.

Security Impact Summary

CVE-2009-5081 is a security vulnerability that . Impacting 1 product from gnu organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Documented in 2011, this vulnerability occurred amid the cloud computing expansion era, where traditional network perimeter security models were being reevaluated. Organizations were transitioning from isolated infrastructure to interconnected systems, creating new attack surfaces that vulnerabilities like this could exploit.

Published

2011-06-30T15:55:01.770

Last Modified

2025-04-11T00:51:21.963

Status

Deferred

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv2: 3.3 (LOW)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P

Access Vector: LOCAL
Access Complexity: MEDIUM
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: NONE
Integrity Impact: PARTIAL
Availability Impact: PARTIAL

Exploitability Score

3.4

Impact Score

4.9

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-59

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	gnu	groff	≤ 1.21	Yes
Application	gnu	groff	1.10	Yes
Application	gnu	groff	1.11	Yes
Application	gnu	groff	1.11a	Yes
Application	gnu	groff	1.14	Yes
Application	gnu	groff	1.15	Yes
Application	gnu	groff	1.16	Yes
Application	gnu	groff	1.16.1	Yes
Application	gnu	groff	1.17.1	Yes
Application	gnu	groff	1.17.2	Yes
Application	gnu	groff	1.18.1	Yes
Application	gnu	groff	1.19	Yes
Application	gnu	groff	1.19.1	Yes
Application	gnu	groff	1.19.2	Yes
Application	gnu	groff	1.20	Yes
Application	gnu	groff	1.20.1	Yes

References

http://cvsweb.openwall.com/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/Owl/packages/groff/groff-1.20.1-owl-tmp.diff Patch ([email protected])
http://cvsweb.openwall.com/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/Owl/packages/groff/groff-1.20.1-owl-tmp.diff.diff?r1=1.1%3Br2=1.2%3Bf=h ([email protected])
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/08/14/4 Patch ([email protected])
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/08/14/5 Patch ([email protected])
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2013:086 ([email protected])
http://cvsweb.openwall.com/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/Owl/packages/groff/groff-1.20.1-owl-tmp.diff Patch (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://cvsweb.openwall.com/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/Owl/packages/groff/groff-1.20.1-owl-tmp.diff.diff?r1=1.1%3Br2=1.2%3Bf=h (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/08/14/4 Patch (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/08/14/5 Patch (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2013:086 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For gnu's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.