{"id":"CVE-2023-40303","aliases":["DEBIAN-CVE-2023-40303","DLA-3611-1","EUVD-2023-44895","GHSA-w2mw-45j6-m2cq","UBUNTU-CVE-2023-40303","USN-6304-1","USN-7781-1"],"status":"published","title":"GNU inetutils through 2.4 may allow privilege escalation because of unchecked return values of...","description":"GNU inetutils before 2.5 may allow privilege escalation because of unchecked return values of set*id() family functions in ftpd, rcp, rlogin, rsh, rshd, and uucpd. This is, for example, relevant if the setuid system call fails when a process is trying to drop privileges before letting an ordinary user control the activities of the process.","severity":{"version":"3.1","score":7.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high","assessor":"primary","from":"nvd"},"epss":{"day":"2026-11-10","score":0.00412,"percentile":0.35787,"model":"v2026.06.15"},"facts":{"in_kev":false,"known_exploited":false,"public_exploit":false,"fix_available":true},"cwes":["CWE-252"],"published":"2023-08-14T00:00:00Z","modified":"2026-11-05T21:30:31Z","fixes":[{"ecosystem":"Debian:12","package":"inetutils","fixed_in":["2:2.4-2+deb12u1"],"sources":["osv"]},{"ecosystem":"Debian:13","package":"inetutils","fixed_in":["2:2.4-3"],"sources":["osv"]},{"ecosystem":"Debian:14","package":"inetutils","fixed_in":["2:2.4-3"],"sources":["osv"]},{"ecosystem":"Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS","package":"inetutils","fixed_in":["2:1.9.2-1ubuntu0.1~esm2"],"sources":["osv"]},{"ecosystem":"Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS","package":"inetutils","fixed_in":["2:1.9.4-1ubuntu0.1~esm3"],"sources":["osv"]},{"ecosystem":"Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS","package":"inetutils","fixed_in":["2:1.9.4-3ubuntu0.1+esm2"],"sources":["osv"]},{"ecosystem":"Ubuntu:20.04:LTS","package":"inetutils","fixed_in":["2:1.9.4-11ubuntu0.2"],"sources":["osv"]},{"ecosystem":"Ubuntu:22.04:LTS","package":"inetutils","fixed_in":["2:2.2-2ubuntu0.1"],"sources":["osv"]},{"ecosystem":"Ubuntu:24.04:LTS","package":"inetutils","fixed_in":["2:2.4-3ubuntu1"],"sources":["osv"]}],"affected":[{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Debian:12","package":"inetutils","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"2:2.4-2+deb12u1"}]}],"versions":["2:2.4-2"]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Debian:13","package":"inetutils","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"2:2.4-3"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Debian:14","package":"inetutils","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"2:2.4-3"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Debian:10","package":"inetutils","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"2:1.9.4-7+deb10u3"}]}],"versions":["2:1.9.4-7","2:1.9.4-7+deb10u1","2:1.9.4-7+deb10u2"],"bundled":2},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS","package":"inetutils","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"2:1.9.2-1ubuntu0.1~esm2"}]}],"versions":["2:1.9.1.306-0a482-1","2:1.9.1.363-bbc1-1","2:1.9.2-1","2:1.9.2-1ubuntu0.1~esm1"]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS","package":"inetutils","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"2:1.9.4-1ubuntu0.1~esm3"}]}],"versions":["2:1.9.4-1","2:1.9.4-1build1","2:1.9.4-1ubuntu0.1~esm1","2:1.9.4-1ubuntu0.1~esm2"]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS","package":"inetutils","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"2:1.9.4-3ubuntu0.1+esm2"}]}],"versions":["2:1.9.4-2build1","2:1.9.4-3","2:1.9.4-3ubuntu0.1","2:1.9.4-3ubuntu0.1+esm1"]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:20.04:LTS","package":"inetutils","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"2:1.9.4-11ubuntu0.2"}]}],"versions":["2:1.9.4-10build1","2:1.9.4-11","2:1.9.4-11ubuntu0.1"]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:22.04:LTS","package":"inetutils","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"2:2.2-2ubuntu0.1"}]}],"versions":["2:2.0-1","2:2.2-2"]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:24.04:LTS","package":"inetutils","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"2:2.4-3ubuntu1"}]}],"versions":["2:2.4-2ubuntu2"]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:20.04:LTS","package":"inetutils","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"2:1.9.4-11ubuntu0.2"}]}],"versions":["2:1.9.4-10build1","2:1.9.4-11","2:1.9.4-11ubuntu0.1"],"bundled":2},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:22.04:LTS","package":"inetutils","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"2:2.2-2ubuntu0.1"}]}],"versions":["2:2.0-1","2:2.2-2"],"bundled":2},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS","package":"inetutils","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"2:1.9.2-1ubuntu0.1~esm2"}]}],"versions":["2:1.9.1.306-0a482-1","2:1.9.1.363-bbc1-1","2:1.9.2-1","2:1.9.2-1ubuntu0.1~esm1"],"bundled":4},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS","package":"inetutils","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"2:1.9.4-1ubuntu0.1~esm3"}]}],"versions":["2:1.9.4-1","2:1.9.4-1build1","2:1.9.4-1ubuntu0.1~esm1","2:1.9.4-1ubuntu0.1~esm2"],"bundled":4},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS","package":"inetutils","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"2:1.9.4-3ubuntu0.1+esm2"}]}],"versions":["2:1.9.4-2build1","2:1.9.4-3","2:1.9.4-3ubuntu0.1","2:1.9.4-3ubuntu0.1+esm1"],"bundled":4}],"products":[{"vendor":"gnu","product":"inetutils"}],"references":[{"url":"https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/inetutils.git/commit/?id=e4e65c03f4c11292a3e40ef72ca3f194c8bffdd6","tags":["x_transferred","Patch","web"]},{"url":"https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-inetutils/2023-07/msg00000.html","tags":["x_transferred","Exploit","Mailing List","Patch","Vendor Advisory","web","report"]},{"url":"https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/inetutils/","tags":["x_transferred","Product","web","report"]},{"url":"https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/10/msg00013.html","tags":["mailing-list","x_transferred","article"]},{"url":"http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/12/30/4","tags":["mailing-list","x_transferred","article"]},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-40303","tags":["advisory"]},{"url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-w2mw-45j6-m2cq"},{"url":"https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2023/40xxx/CVE-2023-40303.json","tags":["advisory"]},{"url":"https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-40303","tags":["advisory"]},{"url":"https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-40303","tags":["report"]},{"url":"https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-6304-1","tags":["advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-40303","tags":["report"]},{"url":"https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7781-1","tags":["advisory"]},{"url":"https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2022-39028","tags":["report"]},{"url":"https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2019-0053","tags":["report"]},{"url":"https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2020-10188","tags":["report"]}],"sources":{"cve":[{"id":"CVE-2023-40303","description":"GNU inetutils before 2.5 may allow privilege escalation because of unchecked return values of set*id() family functions in ftpd, rcp, rlogin, rsh, rshd, and uucpd. This is, for example, relevant if the setuid system call fails when a process is trying to drop privileges before letting an ordinary user control the activities of the process.","status":"published","published":"2023-08-14T00:00:00Z","modified":"2024-08-02T18:31:53.432Z","updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:35:21.612665Z"}],"euvd":[{"id":"EUVD-2023-44895","description":"GNU inetutils before 2.5 may allow privilege escalation because of unchecked return values of set*id() family functions in ftpd, rcp, rlogin, rsh, rshd, and uucpd. This is, for example, relevant if the setuid system call fails when a process is trying to drop privileges before letting an ordinary user control the activities of the process.","status":"published","published":"2023-08-14T00:00:00Z","modified":"2024-08-02T18:31:53Z","updated_at":"2026-11-03T03:50:02.143491Z"}],"ghsa":[{"id":"GHSA-w2mw-45j6-m2cq","title":"GNU inetutils through 2.4 may allow privilege escalation because of unchecked return values of...","description":"GNU inetutils through 2.4 may allow privilege escalation because of unchecked return values of set*id() family functions in ftpd, rcp, rlogin, rsh, rshd, and uucpd. This is, for example, relevant if the setuid system call fails when a process is trying to drop privileges before letting an ordinary user control the activities of the process.","status":"published","published":"2023-08-14T06:30:21Z","modified":"2024-01-02T03:30:30Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high"}],"cwes":["CWE-252"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:55:19.223338Z"}],"nvd":[{"id":"CVE-2023-40303","description":"GNU inetutils before 2.5 may allow privilege escalation because of unchecked return values of set*id() family functions in ftpd, rcp, rlogin, rsh, rshd, and uucpd. This is, for example, relevant if the setuid system call fails when a process is trying to drop privileges before letting an ordinary user control the activities of the process.","status":"published","published":"2023-08-14T05:15:10.233Z","modified":"2026-06-17T06:17:10.047Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high","assessor":"primary"}],"cwes":["CWE-252"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:08:22.812138Z"}],"osv":[{"id":"DEBIAN-CVE-2023-40303","description":"GNU inetutils before 2.5 may allow privilege escalation because of unchecked return values of set*id() family functions in ftpd, rcp, rlogin, rsh, rshd, and uucpd. This is, for example, relevant if the setuid system call fails when a process is trying to drop privileges before letting an ordinary user control the activities of the process.","status":"published","published":"2023-08-14T05:15:10.233Z","modified":"2026-10-26T18:02:32.03658188Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:45:39.980321Z"},{"id":"UBUNTU-CVE-2023-40303","description":"GNU inetutils before 2.5 may allow privilege escalation because of unchecked return values of set*id() family functions in ftpd, rcp, rlogin, rsh, rshd, and uucpd. This is, for example, relevant if the setuid system call fails when a process is trying to drop privileges before letting an ordinary user control the activities of the process.","status":"published","published":"2023-08-14T05:15:00Z","modified":"2026-02-04T03:58:28.613338Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T16:54:22.741943Z"},{"id":"CVE-2023-40303","description":"GNU inetutils before 2.5 may allow privilege escalation because of unchecked return values of set*id() family functions in ftpd, rcp, rlogin, rsh, rshd, and uucpd. This is, for example, relevant if the setuid system call fails when a process is trying to drop privileges before letting an ordinary user control the activities of the process.","status":"published","published":"2023-08-14T00:00:00Z","modified":"2026-11-08T02:47:42.469308859Z","updated_at":"2026-11-07T03:07:50.665443Z"},{"id":"DLA-3611-1","title":"inetutils - security update","status":"published","published":"2023-10-08T00:00:00Z","modified":"2026-03-09T01:22:24.497173Z","updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:46:11.734021Z"},{"id":"USN-6304-1","title":"inetutils vulnerabilities","description":"It was discovered that telnetd in GNU Inetutils incorrectly handled certain inputs.\nAn attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a crash.  This issue\nonly affected Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (CVE-2022-39028)\n\nIt was discovered that Inetutils incorrectly handled certain inputs.\nAn attacker could possibly use this issue to expose sensitive information,\nor execute arbitrary code.\n(CVE-2023-40303)\n","status":"published","published":"2023-08-22T16:59:30Z","modified":"2026-02-10T04:43:16Z","updated_at":"2026-11-02T16:58:17.305935Z"},{"id":"USN-7781-1","title":"inetutils vulnerabilities","description":"Matthew Hickey discovered that Inetutils did not correctly handle certain\nescape characters. An attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a\ndenial of service. (CVE-2019-0053)\n\nIt was discovered that Inetutils did not correctly handle certain memory\noperations. An attacker could possibly use this issue to execute arbitrary\ncode. This issue only affected Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. (CVE-2020-10188)\n\nIt was discovered that Inetutils did not correctly handle certain memory\noperations. An attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of\nservice. (CVE-2022-39028)\n\nIt was discovered that Inetutils did not check the return values of set*id\nfunctions. An attacker could possibly use this issue to escalate their\nprivileges. (CVE-2023-40303)","status":"published","published":"2025-09-28T23:31:44Z","modified":"2026-06-25T13:32:31.266777965Z","updated_at":"2026-11-02T16:58:21.91885Z"}]}}