CVE-2008-5076: htop 0.7 writes process names to a terminal without sanitizing non-printable characters, which might allow...

Security readout for executives and security teams

This old htop issue concerns unsafe display of process names in a terminal. A local user could name a process with terminal control characters, potentially misleading an administrator using htop or causing terminal-side effects. The evidence points to local exposure, not remote compromise. Most relevant exposure is legacy Unix/Linux systems running htop 0.7, especially shared shell servers, jump hosts, or development systems where untrusted local users can start processes and administrators inspect them with htop. Treat this as a legacy local-risk cleanup item, not an internet-facing emergency. Prioritize shared administrative systems and older Linux images where htop 0.7 may still exist. Mitigation focus: Inventory systems for htop 0.7 or distro packages based on that release.; Check Debian, SUSE, and upstream vendor guidance for fixed packages or backports.; Upgrade htop through trusted distribution package channels where fixes are available..

Prepared

Jun 28, 2026, 18:15 UTC (UTC+00:00)

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.