Back
CVE-2009-5079
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…
- 3.3LowCVSS base score
- 0.30%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 77% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- NonePublic exploitsnone known yet
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.
Timeline
ID reserved
By mitre
Published
- 13 years later
· 13 years later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVDNVD · Modified | 2.0 | Low3.3 | AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 0.30% · top 77% of all CVEs (11 Nov 2026)
Loading the EPSS history…
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Low 3.3.
Affected products
n/a
- affected n/a
References
References6
- [oss-security] 20090814 Re: CVE id request: groff (pdfroff) (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTx_transferred
- [oss-security] 20090814 Re: CVE id request: groff (pdfroff) (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTx_transferred
- 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 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
- MDVSA-2013:085 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_MANDRIVAx_transferred
- http://cvsweb.openwall.com/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/Owl/packages/groff/groff-1.20.1-owl-tmp.diff (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
- MDVSA-2013:086 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_MANDRIVAx_transferred
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2009-5034 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2009-5079)Record last updated .