vulnerability / NVI-00017703 / Revision 1
mktemp: empty TMPDIR creates temp files in CWD instead of /tmp
GitHub lists this reviewed advisory for uu_mktemp. Published version ranges and source prerequisites are shown below; this is not an inspection of a visitor’s application.
This report has not inspected your inventory, configuration, deployed build, reachability or evidence. A catalog listing and a severity score do not establish exposure or compromise.
01 / Meaning
Why it matters
Published affected context helps an owner decide what evidence to gather. This report has not examined your application.
3.3 low
GitHub source severity; exploitability and local consequence require separate evidence.
As of · GitHub Advisory Database
02 / Applicability
The affected context
Affected versions, configuration prerequisites and known exclusions are public. Confirm each one against the deployed service.
uu_mktemp
source listed< 0.6.0
The mktemp utility in uutils coreutils fails to properly handle an empty TMPDIR environment variable. Unlike GNU mktemp, which falls back to /tmp when TMPDIR is an empty string, the uutils implementation treats the empty string as a valid path. This causes temporary files to be created in the current working directory (CWD) instead of the intended secure temporary directory. If the CWD is more permissive or accessible to other users than /tmp, it may lead to unintended information disclosure or unauthorized access to temporary data. --- _Zellic finding 3.11. Reported in the Zellic *uutils coreutils Program Security Assessment* (for Canonical, Jan 2026), audited commit `3a07ffc5a9bd4c283e75afa548ba1f1957bad242`._
03 / Response
What to do next
- investigate
Identify the exact component and deployed version, examine the linked publisher’s conditions, and retain evidence of any mitigation.
Confirm current vendor support, compatibility and deployment evidence. This report has not tested a fix in your system. GitHub Advisory Database
A fixed release is not deployment evidence.
Check current vendor support and compatibility. After making a change, verify the deployed build and relevant runtime conditions. Keep the evidence, owner and time. An updated lockfile alone does not prove what is running.
04 / Limits
What this report cannot establish
- Customer inventory, deployment, reachability and exploitation have not been inspected.
05 / Provenance
Sources you can inspect
Each assertion retains its source. Mirrored records may repeat one underlying publisher; additional links are not independent corroboration.
- GHSA-2w8r-9xj7-69j5 ↗
GitHub Advisory Database · vendor advisory
Observed . GitHub Advisory Database; CC-BY-4.0. Each advisory links its original attribution. Null normalizes fields.
Public revision history
Only published revisions appear here. Routine fetches do not create a material-change event.
- Revision 1 ·
First indexed by Null; source disclosure date is shown separately.