passwd in Directory Services in Mac OS X 10.3.x before 10.3.9 and 10.4.x before 10.4.5 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via…

published 2005-12-31 20 y ago modified 2026-06-16 4 mo ago also EUVD-2005-2715

cvss: 6.8; version 2.0, NVD
cisa kev: Not listed; not in CISA's catalog
epss: 0.6%; EPSS 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 46%
public exploits: 0; none known

passwd in Directory Services in Mac OS X 10.3.x before 10.3.9 and 10.4.x before 10.4.5 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the .pwtmp.[PID] temporary file.

Patch / fix

links 5

securityfocus.com/bid/16910 patch
lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2006/Mar/msg00000.html advisory
idefense.com/intelligence/vulnerabilities/display.php?id=400 advisory
secunia.com/advisories/19064 advisory
securityfocus.com/bid/16907 advisory

Exploit prediction

0.55% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 46% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

Exploits and checks

securityfocus.com http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/16910 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
NVD	2.0	6.8	AV:L/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C

Classification

Weakness

CWE-59 Improper Link Resolution Before File Access

References

lists.apple.com /archives/security-announce/2006/Mar/msg00000.html
vendor-advisory, patch
idefense.com /intelligence/vulnerabilities/display.php?id=400
third-party-advisory, patch, vendor-advisory
secunia.com /advisories/19064
third-party-advisory, patch, vendor-advisory
securityfocus.com /bid/16907
vdb-entry, patch, vendor-advisory
securityfocus.com /bid/16910
vdb-entry, exploit, patch
vupen.com /english/advisories/2006/0791
vdb-entry, vendor-advisory
securityfocus.com /archive/1/426535/100/0/threaded
mailing-list
osvdb.org /23647
vdb-entry
us-cert.gov /cas/techalerts/TA06-062A.html
third-party-advisory, us-government-resource
docs.info.apple.com /article.html?artnum=303382
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com /vulnerabilities/25274
vdb-entry

Sources

CVE List CVE-2005-2714
NVD CVE-2005-2714

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.

Summary