crontab in Vixie cron 3.0.1 and earlier does not properly drop privileges after the failed parsing of a modification operation, which could
crontab in Vixie cron 3.0.1 and earlier does not properly drop privileges after the failed parsing of a modification operation, which could allow a local attacker to gain additional privileges when an editor is called to correct the error.
- Published
- Aug 14, 2001
- Updated
- Jun 16, 2026
- EPSS
- 1.1% · 64th percentile
- CWE
- —
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Report tools
Action score
28
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 28 / 40 · 7.2 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 1.1%
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| paul vixie | vixie cron | cpe:2.3:a:paul_vixie:vixie_cron |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- paul vixie vixie cronup to 3.0.1 inclusive
Same product
paul vixie: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2006-2607do_command.c in Vixie cron (vixie-cron) 4.1 does not check the return code of a setuid call, which might allow local users to gain root priv28Monitor
- CVE-1999-0769Vixie Cron on Linux systems allows local users to set parameters of sendmail commands via the MAILTO environmental variable.28Monitor
- CVE-1999-0872Buffer overflow in Vixie cron allows local users to gain root access via a long MAILTO environment variable in a crontab file.28Monitor
- CVE-1999-0297Buffer overflow in Vixie Cron library up to version 3.0 allows local users to obtain root access via a long environmental variable.28Monitor
- CVE-2001-0560Buffer overflow in Vixie cron 3.0.1-56 and earlier could allow a local attacker to gain additional privileges via a long username (> 20 char18Monitor
- CVE-2000-1096crontab by Paul Vixie uses predictable file names for a temporary file and does not properly ensure that the file is owned by the user execu14Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.
Exploit status
Proof of concept available
A public proof of concept or detection signature exists. Exploit knowledge is out there; don't delay patching.
Evidence
- Exploit-DB entry ×2
Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.
| Source | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Exploit-DB entry | local | 2001-05-07 |
| Exploit-DB entry | local | 2001-07-05 |
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.
- First PoC-99 d
- Published
- TodaySep 30, 2026+9179 d
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 researchersFinders, 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
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
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
- Low
- Confidentiality impact
- C
- Integrity impact
- C
- Availability impact
- C
Weakness class (CWE)
—
CVSS vector
AV:L/AC:L/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
We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpChange log
No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.
References
- www.debian.org/security/2001/dsa-054
- www.linux-mandrake.com/en/security/2001/MDKSA-2001-050.php3
- www.novell.com/linux/security/advisories/2001_017_cron_txt.html
- exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/6508
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.