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CVE-2009-4135· NVD / CVE Program· CNA redhat

The distcheck rule in dist-check.mk in GNU coreutils 5.2.1 through 8.1 allows local users to gain privileges via a symlink attack on a file

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 17/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.37% (FIRST EPSS).
  • No fixed version is recorded, but the references include a patch (commit or PR) link.

Low priority for now. See the fix and affected versions sections below.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

The distcheck rule in dist-check.mk in GNU coreutils 5.2.1 through 8.1 allows local users to gain privileges via a symlink attack on a file in a directory tree under /tmp.

MediumCVSS 4.4 · v2.0—No exploit No fix recorded
Published
Dec 11, 2009
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
0.4% · 30th percentile

Report tools

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Action score

17

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
17 / 40 · 4.4 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.4%

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • No fixed version yet

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

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When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Is your version affected? Check it

Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
gnucoreutils
canonicalubuntu linux
fedoraprojectfedora

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • canonical ubuntu linux10.04
  • canonical ubuntu linux12.04
  • canonical ubuntu linux14.04
  • fedoraproject fedora11
  • fedoraproject fedora12
  • gnu coreutils5.2.1
  • gnu coreutils5.91
  • gnu coreutils5.92
  • gnu coreutils5.93
  • gnu coreutils5.94
  • gnu coreutils5.95
  • gnu coreutils5.96
  • gnu coreutils5.97
  • gnu coreutils6.10
  • gnu coreutils6.11
  • gnu coreutils6.12
  • gnu coreutils6.2
  • gnu coreutils6.3
  • gnu coreutils6.4
  • gnu coreutils6.5

Same product

gnu: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2015-4042Integer overflow in the keycompare_mb function in sort.c in sort in GNU Coreutils through 8.23 might allow attackers to cause a denial of se
    40Plan
  • CVE-2014-9471The parse_datetime function in GNU coreutils allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code
    32Monitor
  • CVE-2015-4041The keycompare_mb function in sort.c in sort in GNU Coreutils through 8.23 on 64-bit platforms performs a size calculation without consideri
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2017-18018In GNU Coreutils through 8.29, chown-core.c in chown and chgrp does not prevent replacement of a plain file with a symlink during use of the
    28Monitor
  • CVE-2024-0684Coreutils: heap overflow in split --line-bytes with very long lines
    22Monitor
  • CVE-2015-1865fts.c in coreutils 8.4 allows local users to delete arbitrary files.
    20Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

    If successful

    Confidentiality
    P · data can be read
    Integrity
    P · data or configuration can be modified
    Availability
    P · the service can be disrupted
    Attack complexity
    M
    Confidentiality impact
    P
    Integrity impact
    P
    Availability impact
    P

    Weakness class (CWE)

    CWE-59 · Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

    CVSS vector

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

    nvd-primary

    Attack context

    MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

    Change log

    No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.

    References

    Show all references (15 more)

    Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

    All records