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AixOperating system · Ibm

CVE-2001-1529

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2001-12-31
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Buffer overflow in rpc.yppasswdd (yppasswd server) in AIX allows attackers to gain unauthorized access via a long string. NOTE: due to lack of details in the vendor advisory, it is not clear if this is the same issue as CVE-2001-0779.

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 confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in the rpc.yppasswdd service (NIS password daemon) on AIX systems allows remote or local attackers to execute arbitrary code or gain unauthorized access by sending a specially crafted long string to the service.

MitigationDisable the yppasswdd service if NIS functionality is not required; if needed, apply IBM AIX security patches and restrict network access to the service.

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
AixOperating system
Affected:all versions

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
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/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 checks

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

  1. Verify the operating system is IBM AIX
    Run 'uname -a' or 'oslevel' command to confirm the system is running AIX
    Affected if The system is running any version of IBM AIX with the yppasswdd service present
  2. Check if the yppasswdd service is enabled
    Run 'lssrc -s yppasswdd' or check /etc/rc.nfs for yppasswdd startup entries
    Affected if The yppasswdd service is enabled in the system startup configuration
  3. Determine if yppasswdd is currently running
    Run 'lssrc -a | grep yppasswdd' or 'ps -ef | grep yppasswdd'
    Affected if The rpc.yppasswdd process is actively running on the system
  4. Check if the system is configured as an NIS client or server
    Review /etc/yp directory existence, run 'ypwhich' command, or check /etc/nsswitch.conf for 'passwd' entries referencing nis or nisplus
    Affected if The system is an NIS client or server (NIS functionality is in use)
  5. Verify network exposure of the yppasswdd service
    Check /etc/rpc for yppasswdd entry, run 'rpcinfo -p' to see registered RPC services, and review firewall rules or network access controls
    Affected if The yppasswdd service is accessible over the network (UDP/TCP ports are open or accessible)

The environment is affected if it is running IBM AIX with the yppasswdd (NIS password daemon) service enabled, actively running, and the system uses NIS functionality with network exposure.

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

Disable the yppasswdd service if NIS functionality is not required; if needed, apply IBM AIX security patches and restrict network access to the service.

Fix this in Aix Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2001-1529 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data