CVE-2001-0896
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedInetd in OpenServer 5.0.5 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a port scan, e.g. with nmap -PO.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe inetd (Internet daemon) service in OpenServer 5.0.5 crashes when subjected to a remote port scan using nmap with OS detection flags (-PO), resulting in denial of service. This is a memory handling or resource exhaustion issue in how inetd processes certain probe packets.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 5.0.5CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify the operating system versionRun `uname -a` or check `/etc/release` to confirm the exact OS versionAffected if The system is running Sco OpenServer version 5.0.5 specifically (not another version)
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Confirm inetd service is installed and presentCheck for the inetd binary at `/usr/sbin/inetd` or `/etc/inetd` and verify it exists on the system using `ls -la`Affected if The inetd binary exists on the system
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Determine if inetd is currently runningRun `ps -ef | grep inetd` or use `ps aux` to list running processes and look for inetdAffected if The inetd process is actively running (daemon mode)
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Check if inetd is listening on network interfacesRun `netstat -an | grep LISTEN` or `ss -tlnp` to see which ports inetd is listening on, and check if bound to external/0.0.0.0 interfaces rather than localhost onlyAffected if inetd is bound to external network interfaces (0.0.0.0 or specific IP accessible from network) and accepting connections
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Review inetd configuration for enabled servicesExamine the inetd configuration file (typically `/etc/inetd.conf` or `/etc/inet/inetd.conf`) and look for any active service entries that could be triggered by external probesAffected if There are active service entries in inetd.conf that accept remote connections
A system is affected if it is running Sco OpenServer 5.0.5 with the inetd daemon actively listening on network-accessible interfaces, as only this specific combination triggers the vulnerability when scanned with nmap OS detection flags.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataThis affects an extremely legacy system (2001). Recommended remediation involves replacing inetd with a modern alternative (xinetd, systemd socket activation) or, preferably, migrating away from this obsolete OS entirely. Network-level filtering can provide interim protection by blocking unauthorized port scans.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2001-0896 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2001-0896 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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