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ArkeiaApplication · Knox Software

CVE-2001-0968

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2001-08-31
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Knox Arkeia server 4.2, and possibly other versions, installs its root user with a null password by default, which allows local and remote users to gain privileges.

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 confidence

Knox Arkeia server 4.2 installs with the root user account configured with a null (empty) password by default, which allows any local or remote attacker to authenticate as root without providing a password, granting full system privileges.

MitigationImmediately set a strong, unique password for the root user account and disable root login over network services (telnet, FTP, etc.) if not required for administrative functions.

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
ArkeiaApplication
Affected:= 4.2= 4.2.8.2

CVSS 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
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

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

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if Arkeia server is installed
    Look for Arkeia installation directories such as /usr/local/arkeia, /opt/arkeia, or /etc/arkeia. On Windows, check Program Files for Arkeia folders. Also check running processes for 'arkeia' or 'arkad' daemons.
    Affected if Arkeia server software is present on the system
  2. Determine Arkeia version
    Run 'arkeia --version' from the command line if available, or examine version files like VERSION, about.txt, or similar in the Arkeia installation directory.
    Affected if Installed version is 4.2 or 4.2.8.2
  3. Test root authentication with null password
    Connect to the Arkeia service port (default 617/tcp) and attempt to authenticate as user 'root' with an empty password field. Alternatively, examine Arkeia user configuration files in the installation directory for user entries.
    Affected if Root user authenticates successfully with an empty password, granting full access

System is affected if Arkeia version 4.2 or 4.2.8.2 is installed and the root account accepts authentication with a null (empty) password.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Immediately set a strong, unique password for the root user account and disable root login over network services (telnet, FTP, etc.) if not required for administrative functions.

Fix this in Arkeia Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA0.5 h
3.5 hours of engineering $750
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2001-0968 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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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