CVE-2008-4996

MEDIUMNVD 5.55.5
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence

“—” beside the score: it is equal to NVD's CVSS score.

Score 5.5 from GitHub Security Advisory published 2022-05-17. NVD baseline CVSS 5.5; sources differ by 0.0.

Triggered by: GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
Sources: EPSS, GitHub Security Advisory, NVD CVSS v3
5.5EG
EchelonGraph verdictMonitorRemediate within your standard update timelines (the SSVC decision on this page).
  • Lower severity and no public exploit yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 0.4%CVSS: 5.5Exploit: None knownExposed services: Not assessed

No fix has been recorded since the CVE record was published in 2008 — if the vendor still supports the product, apply the fixed version it names; if not, isolate the affected system (restrict network access to it, for example with a firewall, or keep it off the internet) or retire the product.

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.

CVSS v3
5.5
EG Score
5.5MEDIUMmedium confidence
EG Risk
25
EG Risk 25/100

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed (value × EchelonGraph’s weight)
Severity55% × 45%
The EG Score, 5.5 of 10.
Exploitation0.4% × 40%
FIRST EPSS: the 30-day exploitation probability when EchelonGraph scored this CVE.
Automatability0% × 15%
CISA's SSVC Automatable value: no (Vulnrichment).
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph): Track at every mission impact level.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE.
Action: No fix has been recorded since the CVE record was published in 2008. If the vendor still supports the product, apply the fixed version it names within your standard update timelines; if it no longer does, isolate the affected system (restrict network access to it, for example with a firewall, or keep it off the internet) or retire the product.
EPSS PROB
0.4%
EPSS %ILE
35th
KEV
Not listed

SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at every mission impact level.

No fix has been recorded since the CVE record was published in 2008. If the vendor still supports the product, apply the fixed version it names within your standard update timelines; if it no longer does, isolate the affected system (restrict network access to it, for example with a firewall, or keep it off the internet) or retire the product.

Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table

BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.

In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it

Published

November 7, 2008

Last Modified

April 23, 2026

Advisory Details (3)

Auto-updated May 30, 2026
No fix on record since 2008.
Web page

235770 – (debian-tempfile) [Tracker] Tempfile issues found in Debian

https://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=235770
Web page

oss-security - CVE requests: tempfile issues for aview, mgetty, openoffice, crossfire

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2008/10/30/2
Web page

#496386 - The possibility of attack with the help of symlinks in some Debian packages - Debian Bug report logs

http://bugs.debian.org/496386

Affected Packages

(4 across 4 ecosystems)
Debian:11(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
initramfs-tools0.140 ... 0.151 (17 versions)
  • every version on: no fix on record
—
Debian:12(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
initramfs-tools0.142 ... 0.151 (18 versions)
  • every version on: no fix on record
—
Debian:13(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
initramfs-tools0.148.3, 0.148.4, 0.149, 0.150, 0.151
  • every version on: no fix on record
—
Debian:14(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
initramfs-tools0.148.3, 0.148.4, 0.149, 0.150, 0.151
  • every version on: no fix on record
—

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 8× in last 7d / 21× in last 30d)

Each row is a time one of our pipelines fetched, updated or re-scored this CVE. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. An arrow marks a change the record states ("CVSS v3 → 9.1"); EPSS and GHSA rows show the values recorded at that time, not what changed (EPSS values are rounded; hover one for the exact figures). Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 83 of 125 refreshes on record for this CVE.

A repeat, a row identical to one the same pipeline wrote less than 10 seconds earlier, is not a separate refresh and is not counted. 17 repeat rows among the latest 100 are merged into the row they repeat. The 42 oldest rows on record are not shown and were not checked, so the counts can still include repeats.

  1. 2026-10-12 01:58 UTCEG score recompute
  2. 2026-10-11 13:38 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  3. 2026-10-10 19:53 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  4. 2026-10-09 20:00 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  5. 2026-10-08 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  6. 2026-10-07 23:37 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  7. 2026-10-06 15:09 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  8. 2026-10-05 17:37 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  9. 2026-10-04 23:15 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  10. 2026-10-03 23:19 UTCOSV refresh
  11. 2026-10-03 14:20 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  12. 2026-10-01 19:42 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  13. 2026-09-30 14:57 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  14. 2026-09-29 07:53 UTCEG score recompute
  15. 2026-09-26 15:52 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  16. 2026-09-18 19:20 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 37th percentile
  17. 2026-09-17 19:20 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 37th percentile
  18. 2026-09-15 03:04 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 36th percentile
  19. 2026-09-14 13:14 UTCOSV refresh
  20. 2026-09-13 16:40 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 36th percentile
  21. 2026-09-12 14:54 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 36th percentile
  22. 2026-09-10 09:24 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 36th percentile
  23. 2026-09-06 13:41 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 36th percentile
  24. 2026-09-05 15:22 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 36th percentile
  25. 2026-09-04 13:55 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 36th percentile
Show 58 more
  1. 2026-09-04 04:59 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 36th percentile
  2. 2026-08-30 01:14 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 36th percentile
  3. 2026-08-28 21:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 36th percentile
  4. 2026-08-26 14:13 UTCOSV refresh
  5. 2026-08-15 01:24 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 36th percentile
  6. 2026-08-10 03:39 UTCOSV refresh
  7. 2026-08-08 16:31 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  8. 2026-08-07 16:21 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  9. 2026-08-06 13:41 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  10. 2026-08-05 19:11 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  11. 2026-08-04 15:03 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  12. 2026-08-03 10:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  13. 2026-07-30 01:25 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  14. 2026-07-25 14:12 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  15. 2026-07-25 04:11 UTCOSV refresh
  16. 2026-07-24 14:12 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  17. 2026-07-23 14:14 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  18. 2026-07-23 00:57 UTCEG score recompute
  19. 2026-07-23 00:35 UTCEG score recompute
  20. 2026-07-23 00:02 UTCEG score recompute
  21. 2026-07-22 21:41 UTCEG score recompute
  22. 2026-07-20 17:03 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  23. 2026-07-18 09:59 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  24. 2026-07-16 16:58 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  25. 2026-07-15 16:54 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  26. 2026-07-15 01:55 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  27. 2026-07-13 22:25 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  28. 2026-07-13 06:07 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  29. 2026-07-11 08:22 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 35th percentile
  30. 2026-07-09 19:04 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  31. 2026-07-08 15:09 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  32. 2026-07-07 22:57 UTCOSV refresh
  33. 2026-07-06 16:23 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  34. 2026-07-06 02:19 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  35. 2026-07-05 02:26 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  36. 2026-07-04 06:27 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  37. 2026-07-02 14:00 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  38. 2026-07-01 15:02 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  39. 2026-06-30 23:19 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  40. 2026-06-29 14:02 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  41. 2026-06-28 14:03 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  42. 2026-06-28 04:52 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  43. 2026-06-27 03:04 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  44. 2026-06-25 13:46 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  45. 2026-06-24 14:02 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  46. 2026-06-23 21:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  47. 2026-06-22 14:22 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  48. 2026-06-21 14:53 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  49. 2026-06-21 01:56 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  50. 2026-06-19 19:22 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  51. 2026-06-19 10:55 UTCOSV refresh
  52. 2026-06-18 17:49 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  53. 2026-06-17 17:49 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  54. 2026-06-16 17:49 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  55. 2026-06-15 17:44 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.4% · 34th percentile
  56. 2026-06-14 23:13 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.1% · 30th percentile
  57. 2026-06-13 22:57 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.1% · 30th percentile
  58. 2026-06-12 23:08 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.1% · 30th percentile

Related CVEs(same CWE)

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2008-4996?
CVE-2008-4996 is a medium-severity vulnerability; its CVE record was published on November 7, 2008. 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.
When was the CVE record for CVE-2008-4996 published?
The CVE record for CVE-2008-4996 was published on November 7, 2008. That is the record's publication date; the vulnerability itself may have been made public earlier. EchelonGraph's copy of the record carries a last-modified date of April 23, 2026; the record at its source may have been updated since.
Is CVE-2008-4996 actively exploited?
CVE-2008-4996 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 0.4% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (35th percentile of EPSS-scored CVEs).
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2008-4996?
CVE-2008-4996 has a CVSS v3 base score of 5.5 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2008-4996?
No fix for CVE-2008-4996 has been recorded since its CVE record was published in 2008. If the vendor still supports the product, apply the fixed version it names; if it no longer does, isolate the affected system (restrict network access to it, for example with a firewall, or keep it off the internet) or retire the product.

Dependency Blast Radius

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