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Vulnerability record · CVE-2009-5079 · published 30 June 2011

CVE-2009-5079: Gnu groff link following vulnerability

Gnu · Groff

The (1) gendef.sh, (2) doc/fixinfo.sh, and (3) contrib/gdiffmk/tests/runtests.in scripts in GNU troff (aka groff) 1.21 and earlier allow local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a gro#####.tmp or /tmp/##### temporary file.

3.3 CVSS 2.0 Low EPSS 0.30% · top 79.5% CWE-59 · Link following
3.3CVSS 2.0 base score
0.30%EPSS exploitation probability, 30 days
NoNot in CISA KEV
1Affected product versions listed by NVD
12References
16 Jun 2026Last modified by NVD

Description

The (1) gendef.sh, (2) doc/fixinfo.sh, and (3) contrib/gdiffmk/tests/runtests.in scripts in GNU troff (aka groff) 1.21 and earlier allow local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a gro#####.tmp or /tmp/##### temporary file.

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

Affected products

1 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.

References

LinkTags
http://cvsweb.openwall.com/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/Owl/packages/groff/groff-1.20.1-owl-tmp.diff Patch
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
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/08/14/4
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/08/14/5 Patch
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2013:085
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2013:086
http://cvsweb.openwall.com/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/Owl/packages/groff/groff-1.20.1-owl-tmp.diff Patch
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
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/08/14/4
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/08/14/5 Patch
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2013:085
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2013:086

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Related vulnerabilities

Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.

10.0CVE-2000-0803Gnu groff vulnerabilityGNU Groff uses the current working directory to find a device description file, which allows a local user to gain additional privileges by including …EPSS 2.3%7.5CVE-2002-0003Gnu groff vulnerabilityBuffer overflow in the preprocessor in groff 1.16 and earlier allows remote attackers to gain privileges via lpd in the LPRng printing system.EPSS 1.8%7.5CVE-2001-1022Gnu groff vulnerabilityFormat string vulnerability in pic utility in groff 1.16.1 and other versions, and jgroff before 1.15, allows remote attackers to bypass the -S optio…EPSS 11%6.5CVE-2009-5078Gnu groff vulnerabilitycontrib/pdfmark/pdfroff.sh in GNU troff (aka groff) before 1.21 launches the Ghostscript program without the -dSAFER option, which allows remote atta…EPSS 2.3%3.3CVE-2009-5080Gnu groff link following vulnerabilityThe (1) contrib/eqn2graph/eqn2graph.sh, (2) contrib/grap2graph/grap2graph.sh, and (3) contrib/pic2graph/pic2graph.sh scripts in GNU troff (aka groff)…EPSS 0.36%3.3CVE-2009-5081Gnu groff link following vulnerabilityThe (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 us…EPSS 0.30%3.3CVE-2009-5082Gnu groff link following vulnerabilityThe (1) configure and (2) config.guess scripts in GNU troff (aka groff) 1.20.1 on Openwall GNU/*/Linux (aka Owl) improperly create temporary files up…EPSS 0.32%3.3CVE-2009-5044Apple mac os x link following vulnerabilitycontrib/pdfmark/pdfroff.sh in GNU troff (aka groff) before 1.21 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a pdf#####.tm…EPSS 0.37%

Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2009-5079), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-27). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.