CVE-2001-1411
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 · uneditedFormat string vulnerability in gm4 (aka m4) on Mac OS X may allow local users to gain privileges if gm4 is called by setuid programs.
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 · moderate confidenceA format string vulnerability exists in gm4 (the GNU m4 macro processor) on Mac OS X. When gm4 is invoked by setuid programs, local attackers can exploit unsafe format string handling to inject format specifiers, potentially overwriting memory and gaining elevated privileges.
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= 10.4.9CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if gm4 is installedRun 'which gm4' or 'where gm4' to locate the gm4 binaryAffected if gm4 is not found on the system, the vulnerability does not apply
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Check if gm4 has setuid bit setRun 'ls -l /usr/bin/gm4' or check the gm4 binary location for the 's' flag in permissionsAffected if gm4 binary has setuid bit set, it can be exploited when invoked by attackers
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Identify setuid programs on the systemRun 'find / -perm -4000 -type f 2>/dev/null' to list all setuid binariesAffected if Any setuid program invokes gm4, the vulnerability may be exploitable through that program
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Check if setuid programs invoke gm4Examine setuid binaries by running 'strings' on them or using 'otool -L' on Mac OS X to find if gm4 is referenced, or check script files called by setuid programsAffected if A setuid program or script calls gm4, an attacker could exploit format string injection through that program
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Verify privilege context when gm4 is invokedReview any scripts or programs that call gm4 and check if they run with elevated privileges (check owner and group permissions)Affected if gm4 is invoked by a program running with root or elevated privileges, exploitation could lead to privilege escalation
You are affected if gm4 is installed AND any setuid program on the system invokes gm4, allowing an attacker to pass format string specifiers through that program to gain elevated privileges.
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 dataIdentify and remove setuid bits from programs that invoke gm4, or ensure gm4 is never called with elevated privileges; consider replacing setuid programs with privilege-separated alternatives.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2001-1411 — 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-2001-1411 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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