{"id":"CVE-2004-2264","aliases":["BELL-CVE-2004-2264","EUVD-2004-2256","GHSA-2wff-r89p-gqg6"],"status":"disputed","title":"** DISPUTED ** Format string bug in the open_altfile function in filename.c for GNU less 382, 381...","description":"Format string bug in the open_altfile function in filename.c for GNU less 382, 381, and 358 might allow local users to cause a denial of service or possibly execute arbitrary code via format strings in the LESSOPEN environment variable. NOTE: since less is not setuid or setgid, then this is not a vulnerability unless there are plausible scenarios under which privilege boundaries could be crossed","severity":{"version":"2.0","score":6.4,"vector":"AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P","level":"medium","assessor":"primary","from":"nvd"},"epss":{"day":"2026-11-08","score":0.02031,"percentile":0.8118,"model":"v2026.06.15"},"facts":{"in_kev":false,"known_exploited":false,"public_exploit":false,"fix_available":false},"published":"2004-12-31T05:00:00Z","modified":"2026-06-16T22:09:20Z","products":[{"vendor":"gnu","product":"less"}],"references":[{"url":"http://www.osvdb.org/9014","tags":["vdb-entry","x_refsource_OSVDB","x_transferred"]},{"url":"http://securitytracker.com/id?1010988","tags":["vdb-entry","x_refsource_SECTRACK","x_transferred"]},{"url":"https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/17032","tags":["vdb-entry","x_refsource_XF","x_transferred"]},{"url":"http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/fulldisclosure/2004-08/0794.html","tags":["mailing-list","x_refsource_FULLDISC","x_transferred"]},{"url":"http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/fulldisclosure/2004-08/0811.html","tags":["mailing-list","x_refsource_FULLDISC","x_transferred"]},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2004-2264"},{"url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-2wff-r89p-gqg6"},{"url":"https://docs.bell-sw.com/security/cves/CVE-2004-2264","tags":["advisory"]}],"sources":{"cve":[{"id":"CVE-2004-2264","description":"Format string bug in the open_altfile function in filename.c for GNU less 382, 381, and 358 might allow local users to cause a denial of service or possibly execute arbitrary code via format strings in the LESSOPEN environment variable. NOTE: since less is not setuid or setgid, then this is not a vulnerability unless there are plausible scenarios under which privilege boundaries could be crossed","status":"disputed","published":"2005-07-19T04:00:00Z","modified":"2024-08-08T01:22:13.177Z","updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:34:53.357376Z"}],"euvd":[{"id":"EUVD-2004-2256","description":"Format string bug in the open_altfile function in filename.c for GNU less 382, 381, and 358 might allow local users to cause a denial of service or possibly execute arbitrary code via format strings in the LESSOPEN environment variable. NOTE: since less is not setuid or setgid, then this is not a vulnerability unless there are plausible scenarios under which privilege boundaries could be crossed","status":"published","published":"2005-07-19T04:00:00Z","modified":"2024-08-08T01:22:13Z","updated_at":"2026-11-03T01:15:10.882227Z"}],"ghsa":[{"id":"GHSA-2wff-r89p-gqg6","title":"** DISPUTED ** Format string bug in the open_altfile function in filename.c for GNU less 382, 381...","description":"** DISPUTED ** Format string bug in the open_altfile function in filename.c for GNU less 382, 381, and 358 might allow local users to cause a denial of service or possibly execute arbitrary code via format strings in the LESSOPEN environment variable. NOTE: since less is not setuid or setgid, then this is not a vulnerability unless there are plausible scenarios under which privilege boundaries could be crossed.","status":"published","published":"2022-04-29T03:01:06Z","modified":"2023-01-30T05:04:05Z","updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:46:57.954925Z"}],"nvd":[{"id":"CVE-2004-2264","description":"Format string bug in the open_altfile function in filename.c for GNU less 382, 381, and 358 might allow local users to cause a denial of service or possibly execute arbitrary code via format strings in the LESSOPEN environment variable. NOTE: since less is not setuid or setgid, then this is not a vulnerability unless there are plausible scenarios under which privilege boundaries could be crossed","status":"disputed","published":"2004-12-31T05:00:00Z","modified":"2026-06-16T22:09:20.133Z","cvss":[{"version":"2.0","score":6.4,"vector":"AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P","level":"medium","assessor":"primary"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:00:52.459805Z"}],"osv":[{"id":"BELL-CVE-2004-2264","title":"CVE-2004-2264 does not affect BellSoft software","status":"withdrawn","published":"2004-12-31T05:00:00Z","modified":"2026-01-28T07:19:00.840477Z","cvss":[{"version":"2.0","score":6.4,"vector":"AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P","level":"medium"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:28:12.886815Z"}]}}