CVE-2023-40303 json
GNU inetutils before 2.5 may allow privilege escalation because of unchecked return values of set*id() family functions in ftpd, rcp, rlogi…
published 2023-08-14 3 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2023-44895
- cvss
- 7.8
- version 3.1, NVD
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 0.4%
- EPSS 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 35%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
GNU inetutils before 2.5 may allow privilege escalation because of unchecked return values of set*id() family functions in ftpd, rcp, rlogin, rsh, rshd, and uucpd. This is, for example, relevant if the setuid system call fails when a process is trying to drop privileges before letting an ordinary user control the activities of the process.
Patch / fix
- inetutils Debian 12 2:2.4-2+deb12u1
- inetutils Debian 14, Debian 13 2:2.4-3
debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2023-40303
- inetutils Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 2:1.9.4-11ubuntu0.2
- inetutils Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 2:2.2-2ubuntu0.1
- inetutils Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 2:2.4-3ubuntu1
- inetutils Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS 2:1.9.2-1ubuntu0.1~esm2
- inetutils Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS 2:1.9.4-1ubuntu0.1~esm3
- inetutils Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS 2:1.9.4-3ubuntu0.1+esm2
ubuntu advisories UBUNTU-CVE-2023-40303
Ubuntu security data © Canonical Ltd., from https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0
Exploit prediction
0.41% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 35% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).
Exploits and checks
- lists.gnu.org https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-inetutils/2023-07/msg00000.html referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVD | 3.1 | 7.8 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
Classification
- Weakness
-
- CWE-252 Unchecked Return Value
References
-
git.savannah.gnu.org
/cgit/inetutils.git/commit/?id=e4e65c03f4c11292a3e40ef72ca3f194c8bffdd6
patch
-
lists.gnu.org
/archive/html/bug-inetutils/2023-07/msg00000.html
exploit, mailing-list, patch, vendor-advisory
-
ftp.gnu.org
/gnu/inetutils/
product
-
lists.debian.org
/debian-lts-announce/2023/10/msg00013.html
mailing-list
-
openwall.com
/lists/oss-security/2023/12/30/4
mailing-list
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2023-40303
- NVD CVE-2023-40303
Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.