Description
Race condition in the rmtree function in File::Path 1.08 (lib/File/Path.pm) in Perl 5.8.8 allows local users to to delete arbitrary files via a symlink attack, a different vulnerability than CVE-2005-0448, CVE-2004-0452, and CVE-2008-2827. NOTE: this is a regression error related to CVE-2005-0448. It is different from CVE-2008-5302 due to affected versions.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | perl | 5.10.0-18 | — |
| Debian 13 | perl | 5.10.0-18 | — |
| Debian 12 | perl | 5.10.0-18 | — |
| Debian 4.0 | perl | 5.8.8-7etch5 | DSA-1678-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 5 | perl +1 | 4:5.8.8-32.el5_5.1 | RHSA-2010:0458 |
Advisories 2
- RHSA-2010:0458 Red Hat Security Advisory: perl security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- DSA-1678-1 perl - privilege escalation Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
References
- 32980 third-party-advisory
- http://wiki.rpath.com/Advisories:rPSA-2009-0011
- DSA-1678 vendor-advisory
- USN-700-1 vendor-advisory
- [oss-security] 20081128 Re: [oss-security] CVE Request - cups, dovecot-managesieve, perl, wireshark mailing-list
- APPLE-SA-2010-03-29-1 vendor-advisory
- http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=286905
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:6680 vdb-entry signature
- http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=286922#36
- http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4077
- 33314 third-party-advisory
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:9699 vdb-entry signature
- 20090120 rPSA-2009-0011-1 perl mailing-list
- USN-700-2 vendor-advisory
- http://kb.juniper.net/InfoCenter/index?page=content&id=JSA10705
- 40052 third-party-advisory
- RHSA-2010:0458 vendor-advisory
- filepath-rmtree-symlink(47044) vdb-entry
- http://kb.juniper.net/InfoCenter/index?page=content&id=JSA10735
- http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/perl/porters/233695#233695
- MDVSA-2010:116 vendor-advisory