Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2003-0853

An integer overflow in ls in the fileutils or coreutils packages may allow local users to cause a denial of service or execute arbitrary code via a large -w value, which could be remotely exploited via applications that use ls, such as wu-ftpd.

Security Impact Summary

CVE-2003-0853 is a security vulnerability that . Impacting 2 products from gnu, from washington_university organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Originally identified in 2003, 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

2003-11-17T05:00:00.000

Last Modified

2025-04-03T01:03:51.193

Status

Deferred

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv2: 5.0 (MEDIUM)

CVSSv2 Vector

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

Access Vector: NETWORK
Access Complexity: LOW
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: NONE
Integrity Impact: NONE
Availability Impact: PARTIAL

Exploitability Score

10.0

Impact Score

2.9

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
NVD-CWE-Other

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	gnu	fileutils	4.0	Yes
Application	gnu	fileutils	4.0.36	Yes
Application	gnu	fileutils	4.1	Yes
Application	gnu	fileutils	4.1.6	Yes
Application	gnu	fileutils	4.1.7	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.4.1	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.4.2_beta2	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.4.2_beta18	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.4.2_beta18_vr4	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.4.2_beta18_vr5	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.4.2_beta18_vr6	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.4.2_beta18_vr7	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.4.2_beta18_vr8	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.4.2_beta18_vr9	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.4.2_beta18_vr10	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.4.2_beta18_vr11	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.4.2_beta18_vr12	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.4.2_beta18_vr13	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.4.2_beta18_vr14	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.4.2_beta18_vr15	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.4.2_vr16	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.4.2_vr17	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.5.0	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.6.0	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.6.1	Yes
Application	washington_university	wu-ftpd	2.6.2	Yes

References

http://distro.conectiva.com.br/atualizacoes/?id=a&anuncio=000768 ([email protected])
http://distro.conectiva.com.br/atualizacoes/?id=a&anuncio=000771 ([email protected])
http://lists.grok.org.uk/pipermail/full-disclosure/2003-October/012548.html ([email protected])
http://secunia.com/advisories/10126 ([email protected])
http://secunia.com/advisories/17069 ([email protected])
http://support.avaya.com/elmodocs2/security/ASA-2005-213.pdf ([email protected])
http://www.guninski.com/binls.html ([email protected])
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDKSA-2003:106 ([email protected])
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2003-309.html ([email protected])
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2003-310.html ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/advisories/6014 ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/8875 Exploit, Patch, Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
http://www.turbolinux.com/security/TLSA-2003-60.txt ([email protected])
http://distro.conectiva.com.br/atualizacoes/?id=a&anuncio=000768 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://distro.conectiva.com.br/atualizacoes/?id=a&anuncio=000771 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://lists.grok.org.uk/pipermail/full-disclosure/2003-October/012548.html (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://secunia.com/advisories/10126 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://secunia.com/advisories/17069 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://support.avaya.com/elmodocs2/security/ASA-2005-213.pdf (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.guninski.com/binls.html (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDKSA-2003:106 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2003-309.html (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2003-310.html (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/advisories/6014 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/8875 Exploit, Patch, Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.turbolinux.com/security/TLSA-2003-60.txt (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 gnu'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.