Vulnerability Monitor

The vendors, products, and vulnerabilities you care about

CVE-2002-0638

setpwnam.c in the util-linux package, as included in Red Hat Linux 7.3 and earlier, and other operating systems, does not properly lock a temporary file when modifying /etc/passwd, which may allow local users to gain privileges via a complex race condition that uses an open file descriptor in utility programs such as chfn and chsh.

Security Impact Summary

CVE-2002-0638 is a security vulnerability that . Impacting 5 products from mandrakesoft, from hp, from mandrakesoft and 2 others, organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Originally identified in 2002, this vulnerability predates many modern security frameworks and practices. The vulnerability landscape of that era was characterized by different threat models and less mature defense mechanisms compared to contemporary standards.

Published

2002-08-12T04:00:00.000

Last Modified

2025-04-03T01:03:51.193

Status

Deferred

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv2: 6.2 (MEDIUM)

CVSSv2 Vector

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

Access Vector: LOCAL
Access Complexity: HIGH
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: COMPLETE
Integrity Impact: COMPLETE
Availability Impact: COMPLETE

Exploitability Score

1.9

Impact Score

10.0

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
NVD-CWE-Other

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	mandrakesoft	mandrake_single_network_firewall	7.2	Yes
Operating System	hp	secure_os	1.0	Yes
Operating System	mandrakesoft	mandrake_linux	7.0	Yes
Operating System	mandrakesoft	mandrake_linux	7.1	Yes
Operating System	mandrakesoft	mandrake_linux	7.2	Yes
Operating System	mandrakesoft	mandrake_linux	8.0	Yes
Operating System	mandrakesoft	mandrake_linux	8.0	Yes
Operating System	mandrakesoft	mandrake_linux	8.1	Yes
Operating System	mandrakesoft	mandrake_linux	8.1	Yes
Operating System	mandrakesoft	mandrake_linux	8.2	Yes
Operating System	mandrakesoft	mandrake_linux_corporate_server	1.0.1	Yes
Operating System	redhat	linux	6.0	Yes
Operating System	redhat	linux	6.0	Yes
Operating System	redhat	linux	6.0	Yes
Operating System	redhat	linux	6.1	Yes
Operating System	redhat	linux	6.1	Yes
Operating System	redhat	linux	6.1	Yes
Operating System	redhat	linux	6.2	Yes
Operating System	redhat	linux	6.2	Yes
Operating System	redhat	linux	6.2	Yes
Operating System	redhat	linux	7.0	Yes
Operating System	redhat	linux	7.0	Yes
Operating System	redhat	linux	7.1	Yes
Operating System	redhat	linux	7.1	Yes
Operating System	redhat	linux	7.1	Yes
Operating System	redhat	linux	7.2	Yes
Operating System	redhat	linux	7.2	Yes
Operating System	redhat	linux	7.2	Yes
Operating System	redhat	linux	7.3	Yes

References

ftp://ftp.caldera.com/pub/security/OpenLinux/CSSA-2002-043.0.txt ([email protected])
http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/bugtraq/2002-07/0357.html ([email protected])
http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/bugtraq/2002-07/0396.html ([email protected])
http://distro.conectiva.com.br/atualizacoes/?id=a&anuncio=000523 ([email protected])
http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=102795787713996&w=2 ([email protected])
http://online.securityfocus.com/advisories/4320 ([email protected])
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2002-132.html Patch, Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
http://www.iss.net/security_center/static/9709.php ([email protected])
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/405955 Patch, Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource ([email protected])
http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/security/2002/MDKSA-2002-047.php ([email protected])
http://www.osvdb.org/5164 ([email protected])
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2002-137.html ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/5344 ([email protected])
ftp://ftp.caldera.com/pub/security/OpenLinux/CSSA-2002-043.0.txt (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/bugtraq/2002-07/0357.html (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/bugtraq/2002-07/0396.html (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://distro.conectiva.com.br/atualizacoes/?id=a&anuncio=000523 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=102795787713996&w=2 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://online.securityfocus.com/advisories/4320 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2002-132.html Patch, Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.iss.net/security_center/static/9709.php (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/405955 Patch, Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/security/2002/MDKSA-2002-047.php (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.osvdb.org/5164 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2002-137.html (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/5344 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For mandrakesoft's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.