CVE-2013-0261 | Packstack: packstack: arbitrary file overwrite via symlink attack

A flaw was found in PackStack. A local user could exploit a symlink attack on a temporary file with a predictable name in the `/tmp` directory. This vulnerability allows the local user to overwrite arbitrary files on the system, potentially leading to system compromise or data corruption.

Published: 2013-03-08 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2013-0261 is rated Moderate Risk (44.6/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.35%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

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-2013-0261

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 2026-06-15 0.12% 0.35% +0.23%
2 2026-05-24 0.04% 0.12% +0.08%
3 2026-05-01 — 0.04% —

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2013-0261

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.0 6.0 [email protected]
4.4 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/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:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 3.4 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2013-0261

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2013-0261

GHSA-846g-25mr-v9p5 · Severity: medium — (1) installer/basedefs.py and (2) modules/ospluginutils.py in PackStack allows local users to...

NVD evaluator notes for CVE-2013-0261

Impact: Per http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2013-0595.html these are the affected products: Red Hat OpenStack Essex Red Hat OpenStack Folsom

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2013-0261

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
openstack essex — cpe:2.3:a:openstack:essex:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
openstack folsom — cpe:2.3:a:openstack:folsom:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2013-0261

cvelogic Threat Intelligence