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CVE-2013-4559· NVD / CVE Program· CNA redhat

lighttpd before 1.4.33 does not check the return value of the (1) setuid, (2) setgid, or (3) setgroups functions, which might cause lighttpd

lighttpd before 1.4.33 does not check the return value of the (1) setuid, (2) setgid, or (3) setgroups functions, which might cause lighttpd to run as root if it is restarted and allows remote attackers to gain privileges, as demonstrated by multiple calls to the clone function that cause setuid to fail when the user process limit is reached.

HighCVSS 7.6 · v2.0—No exploit Fix available
Published
Nov 20, 2013
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
10.7% · 96th percentile
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Report tools

JSON

Action score

33

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
30 / 40 · 7.6 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
3 / 30 · 10.7%

Affected systems

VendorProduct
lighttpdlighttpd
debiandebian linux
opensuseopensuse

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • debian debian linux6.0
  • debian debian linux7.0
  • debian debian linux8.0
  • lighttpd lighttpdbefore 1.4.33
  • opensuse opensuse12.2
  • opensuse opensuse12.3
  • opensuse opensuse13.1

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12lighttpdbefore 1.4.33-1+nmu11.4.33-1+nmu1
Debian:6.0lighttpdbefore 1.4.28-2+squeeze1.41.4.28-2+squeeze1.4
Debian:7lighttpdbefore 1.4.31-4+deb7u11.4.31-4+deb7u1
openSUSE:Tumbleweedlighttpdbefore 1.4.37-1.61.4.37-1.6

Same product

lighttpd: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2019-11072lighttpd before 1.4.54 has a signed integer overflow, which might allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or
    61This week
  • CVE-2014-2323SQL injection vulnerability in mod_mysql_vhost.c in lighttpd before 1.4.35 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the
    58Plan
  • CVE-2022-30780Lighttpd 1.4.56 through 1.4.58 allows a remote attacker to cause a denial of service (CPU consumption from stuck connections) because connec
    47Plan
  • CVE-2018-19052An issue was discovered in mod_alias_physical_handler in mod_alias.c in lighttpd before 1.4.50.
    34Monitor
  • CVE-2007-3949mod_access.c in lighttpd 1.4.15 ignores trailing / (slash) characters in the URL, which allows remote attackers to bypass url.access-deny se
    34Monitor
  • CVE-2015-3200mod_auth in lighttpd before 1.4.36 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary log entries via a basic HTTP authentication string without a
    33Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
debian:lighttpd1.4.33-1+nmu1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:lighttpd1.4.37-1.6 · openSUSE:TumbleweedPackage registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.

If successful

Confidentiality
C · data can be read
Integrity
C · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
C · the service can be disrupted
Attack complexity
High
Confidentiality impact
C
Integrity impact
C
Availability impact
C

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-264 · Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls

CVSS vector

AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Noroxi analysis

No Noroxi analysis for this record yet

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Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

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References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records