CVE-2009-5044

contrib/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#####.tmp temporary file.

Published: 2011-06-24 Last update: 2026-04-29 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2009-5044 is rated Low Risk (19.5/100): CVSS Low severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.07%). Low composite risk—no urgent action required; patch on your normal maintenance cycle and revisit priority if CVSS or EPSS increases.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2009-5044

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-03-17 0.04% 0.07% +0.02%
2 2023-03-07 1.55% 0.04% -1.50%
3 2022-02-04 — 1.55% —

Full EPSS history (3 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2009-5044

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
3.3 2.0 LOW
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 3.4 4.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2009-5044

OS Trackers for CVE-2009-5044

vendor priority summary link
debian low CVE-2009-5044 low priority: Debian including 1 source packages (groff), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2009-5044
gentoo low CVE-2009-5044: 1 GLSA(s) (201310-14), 1 atom(s) (sys-apps/groff); latest impact low. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2009-5044
redhat low — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2009-5044
suse low CVE-2009-5044 severity low: SUSE including 22 source package names (groff-1.22.2-5.287, groff-1.22.2-5.429, …), 54 product×package rows across 22 product lines (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP1, … (22 product lines)): Fixed 54. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2009-5044/
ubuntu low CVE-2009-5044 low priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (groff), 6 status rows across 6 suites (hardy, lucid, maverick, natty, oneiric, upstream): not-affected 4, ignored 1, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2009-5044

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2009-5044

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
apple mac_os_x <= 10.10.4 cpe:2.3:o:apple:mac_os_x:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
gnu groff <= 1.20.1 cpe:2.3:a:gnu:groff:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
gnu groff 1.10 cpe:2.3:a:gnu:groff:1.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
gnu groff 1.11 cpe:2.3:a:gnu:groff:1.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
gnu groff 1.11a cpe:2.3:a:gnu:groff:1.11a:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
gnu groff 1.14 cpe:2.3:a:gnu:groff:1.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
gnu groff 1.15 cpe:2.3:a:gnu:groff:1.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
gnu groff 1.16 cpe:2.3:a:gnu:groff:1.16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
gnu groff 1.16.1 cpe:2.3:a:gnu:groff:1.16.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
gnu groff 1.17.1 cpe:2.3:a:gnu:groff:1.17.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
gnu groff 1.17.2 cpe:2.3:a:gnu:groff:1.17.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
gnu groff 1.18.1 cpe:2.3:a:gnu:groff:1.18.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
gnu groff 1.19 cpe:2.3:a:gnu:groff:1.19:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
gnu groff 1.19.1 cpe:2.3:a:gnu:groff:1.19.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
gnu groff 1.19.2 cpe:2.3:a:gnu:groff:1.19.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
gnu groff 1.20 cpe:2.3:a:gnu:groff:1.20:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2009-5044

URL Tags
ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/groff/groff-1.20.1-1.21.diff.gz Patch
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=538330
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://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2015/Aug/msg00001.html
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/08/09/1
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/08/10/2
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/08/14/4
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/08/14/5
http://secunia.com/advisories/44999 Vendor Advisory
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2013:085
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2013:086
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/36381
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT205031
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