Apple CUPS 1.3.8 link following

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
7.6	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Apple CUPS 1.3.8 and classified as problematic. Impacted is an unknown function. The manipulation results in link following. This vulnerability is identified as CVE-2008-5377. Additionally, an exploit exists. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Apple CUPS 1.3.8 (Printing Software). Affected is an unknown code. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a link following vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-59. The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

pstopdf in CUPS 1.3.8 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the /tmp/pstopdf.log temporary file, a different vulnerability than CVE-2001-1333.

The bug was discovered 08/13/2008. The weakness was released 12/08/2008 by Jon Oberheide (Website). The advisory is shared for download at milw0rm.com. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2008-5377 since 12/08/2008. The attack needs to be approached locally. The exploitation doesn't require any form of authentication. Technical details are unknown but a public exploit is available.

A public exploit has been developed by Jon Oberheide and been published 2 weeks after the advisory. The exploit is shared for download at exploit-db.com. It is declared as proof-of-concept. The vulnerability was handled as a non-public zero-day exploit for at least 117 days. During that time the estimated underground price was around $5k-$25k. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 38132 (Ubuntu 6.06 LTS / 7.10 / 8.04 LTS / 8.10 : cups, cupsys vulnerabilities (USN-707-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. It is assigned to the family Ubuntu Local Security Checks and running in the context l. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 116078 (CUPS "pstopdf" Insecure Temporary File Creation Vulnerability).

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability. A possible mitigation has been published 2 months after the disclosure of the vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (47249), Exploit-DB (7550), Tenable (38132), SecurityFocus (BID 32745†) and OSVDB (50637†). VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Productinfo

Type

Printing Software

Vendor

Apple

Name

CUPS

Version

1.3.8

License

free

Website

Vendor: https://www.apple.com/

CPE 2.3info

🔍

CPE 2.2info

🔍

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 8.4
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.6

VulDB Base Score: 8.4
VulDB Temp Score: 7.6
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
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Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Link following
CWE: CWE-59
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

Availability: 🔍
Access: Public
Status: Proof-of-Concept
Author: Jon Oberheide
Download: 🔍

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Nessus ID: 38132
Nessus Name: Ubuntu 6.06 LTS / 7.10 / 8.04 LTS / 8.10 : cups, cupsys vulnerabilities (USN-707-1)
Nessus File: 🔍
Nessus Risk: 🔍
Nessus Family: 🔍
Nessus Context: 🔍

OpenVAS ID: 64165
OpenVAS Name: Ubuntu USN-707-1 (cupsys)
OpenVAS File: 🔍
OpenVAS Family: 🔍

Qualys ID: 🔍
Qualys Name: 🔍

Exploit-DB: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

Reaction Time: 🔍
0-Day Time: 🔍
Exposure Time: 🔍
Exploit Delay Time: 🔍

Timelineinfo

08/11/2008 🔍
08/11/2008 +0 days 🔍
08/13/2008 +2 days 🔍
12/08/2008 +117 days 🔍
12/08/2008 +0 days 🔍
12/08/2008 +0 days 🔍
12/22/2008 +14 days 🔍
12/22/2008 +0 days 🔍
12/22/2008 +0 days 🔍
01/12/2009 +21 days 🔍
04/23/2009 +101 days 🔍
03/17/2015 +2154 days 🔍
05/25/2025 +3722 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: apple.com

Advisory: milw0rm.com⛔
Researcher: Jon Oberheide
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2008-5377 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2008-5377
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-45336

OVAL: 🔍

X-Force: 47249
SecurityFocus: 32745 - CUPS 'pstopdf' Insecure Temporary File Creation Vulnerability
OSVDB: 50637 - CUPS - 'pstopdf' Insecure Temporary File Creation Issue
Vulnerability Center: 20301 - CUPS 1.3.8 pstopdf Local Arbitrary Files Overwrite via Symlink Attack on /tmp/pstopdf.log, Low

scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20161013

Entryinfo

Created: 03/17/2015 16:11
Updated: 05/25/2025 04:31
Changes: 03/17/2015 16:11 (79), 08/22/2019 16:57 (7), 11/20/2024 19:12 (17), 05/25/2025 04:31 (2)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216:F23:103

VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.