Red Hat Linux 7.1/7.2/7.3/8.0 pam_xauth privileges management

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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7.6$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Red Hat Linux 7.1/7.2/7.3/8.0. This affects an unknown part of the component pam_xauth. Such manipulation leads to privileges management. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2002-1160. Local access is required to approach this attack. Moreover, an exploit is present. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Red Hat Linux 7.1/7.2/7.3/8.0 (Operating System). Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality of the component pam_xauth. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a privileges management vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-269. The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

The default configuration of the pam_xauth module forwards MIT-Magic-Cookies to new X sessions, which could allow local users to gain root privileges by stealing the cookies from a temporary .xauth file, which is created with the original user s credentials after root uses su.

The weakness was disclosed 02/03/2003 with Ernst & Young Advanced Security Center as not defined mailinglist post (Bugtraq). The advisory is available at marc.theaimsgroup.com. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2002-1160. Local access is required to approach this attack. No form of authentication is required for exploitation. Technical details are unknown but a public exploit is available. This vulnerability is assigned to T1068 by the MITRE ATT&CK project.

It is declared as proof-of-concept. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 14002 (Mandrake Linux Security Advisory : pam (MDKSA-2003:017-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. It is assigned to the family Mandriva Local Security Checks and running in the context l. This NASL code is used to determine the existence of the issue:

if (rpm_check(release:"MDK8.2", cpu:"i386", reference:"pam-0.75-25.2mdk", yank:"mdk")) flag++;
if (rpm_check(release:"MDK8.2", cpu:"i386", reference:"pam-devel-0.75-25.2mdk", yank:"mdk")) flag++;
if (rpm_check(release:"MDK8.2", cpu:"i386", reference:"pam-doc-0.75-25.2mdk", yank:"mdk")) flag++;

if (rpm_check(release:"MDK9.0", cpu:"i386", reference:"pam-0.75-25.2mdk", yank:"mdk")) flag++;
if (rpm_check(release:"MDK9.0", cpu:"i386", reference:"pam-devel-0.75-25.2mdk", yank:"mdk")) flag++;
if (rpm_check(release:"MDK9.0", cpu:"i386", reference:"pam-doc-0.75-25.2mdk", yank:"mdk")) flag++;
The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 38370 (Red Hat pam_xauth Module Privilege Escalation Vulnerability).

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability. A possible mitigation has been published 3 months after the disclosure of the vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (11254), Tenable (14002), SecurityFocus (BID 6753†), OSVDB (14505†) and Vulnerability Center (SBV-6971†). If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

Productinfo

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CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 8.4
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.6

VulDB Base Score: 8.4
VulDB Temp Score: 7.6
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Privileges management
CWE: CWE-269 / CWE-266
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

Availability: 🔍
Access: Public
Status: Proof-of-Concept

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

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Nessus ID: 14002
Nessus Name: Mandrake Linux Security Advisory : pam (MDKSA-2003:017-1)
Nessus File: 🔍
Nessus Risk: 🔍
Nessus Family: 🔍
Nessus Context: 🔍
Nessus Port: 🔍

Qualys ID: 🔍
Qualys Name: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

Reaction Time: 🔍
0-Day Time: 🔍
Exposure Time: 🔍

Timelineinfo

02/03/2003 🔍
02/03/2003 +0 days 🔍
02/03/2003 +0 days 🔍
02/03/2003 +0 days 🔍
02/19/2003 +16 days 🔍
04/28/2003 +68 days 🔍
04/09/2004 +346 days 🔍
07/31/2004 +113 days 🔍
02/02/2005 +186 days 🔍
09/07/2025 +7522 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: redhat.com

Advisory: marc.theaimsgroup.com
Researcher: The discovery
Organization: Ernst & Young Advanced Security Center
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2002-1160 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2002-1160
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-2
CERT: 🔍
X-Force: 11254 - Linux pam_xauth could allow an attacker to gain privileges, High Risk
SecurityFocus: 6753 - PAM pam_xauth Module Unintended X Session Cookie Access Vulnerability
OSVDB: 14505 - pam_xauth Module MIT-Magic-Cookies Local Disclosure Privilege Escalation
Vulnerability Center: 6971 - pam_xauth 0.74, 0.75 Allows Gaining Root Privileges via su Utility, Medium

scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20161013

Entryinfo

Created: 02/03/2003 01:00
Updated: 09/07/2025 12:12
Changes: 02/03/2003 01:00 (59), 04/22/2019 10:50 (30), 03/08/2021 06:31 (2), 03/08/2021 06:37 (1), 10/26/2024 18:08 (17), 09/07/2025 12:12 (2)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216:AA4:103

If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

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