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GlibcFramework / library · Gnu

CVE-2002-1265

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2002-11-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
The Sun RPC functionality in multiple libc implementations does not provide a time-out mechanism when reading data from TCP connections, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (hang).

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

The Sun RPC implementation in multiple libc libraries lacks a timeout mechanism when reading data from TCP connections. When a remote attacker sends data slowly or incompletely over a TCP connection to an RPC service, the receiving process hangs indefinitely waiting for data or a connection close, causing denial of service.

MitigationApply vendor patches for affected libc implementations; implement network-level timeouts on firewalls for RPC services; consider upgrading to modern RPC implementations with built-in timeouts.

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
GlibcFramework / library
Affected:= 2.0= 2.0.1= 2.0.2= 2.0.3= 2.0.4= 2.0.5= 2.0.6= 2.1= 2.1.1= 2.1.1.6= 2.1.2= 2.1.3
IrixOperating system
Affected:= 2.3.1= 6.5= 6.5.1= 6.5.2= 6.5.3= 6.5.4= 6.5.5= 6.5.6= 6.5.7= 6.5.8= 6.5.9= 6.5.10
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:= 10.0= 10.0.1= 10.0.2= 10.0.3= 10.0.4= 10.1= 10.1.1= 10.1.2= 10.1.3= 10.1.4= 10.1.5= 10.2
Mac Os X ServerOperating system
Affected:= 10.0= 10.2= 10.2.1

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify the libc implementation in use
    On Linux systems, run `ldd --version` or check `/lib/libc.so.6` for glibc. On other systems, identify the libc library used by the RPC implementation.
    Affected if The system uses glibc versions 2.0 through 2.1.3, or runs IRIX 2.3.1 through 6.5.10, or Mac OS X 10.0 through 10.2 / Mac OS X Server 10.0 through 10.2.1
  2. Determine if RPC services are running over TCP
    Check for running RPC services: run `rpcinfo -p` to list registered RPC programs, or check for portmap/rcpbind processes. Review application configs for RPC services using TCP transport (svcTCP functions).
    Affected if RPC services (such as NFS, NIS, or custom RPC applications) are listening and accepting TCP connections from the network
  3. Verify TCP-based RPC listeners exist
    Run `netstat -tlnp | grep -E '111|portmap|rpc' ` or `ss -tlnp` to see if RPC ports are bound to TCP. Inspect any custom RPC server code for svctcp_create() or similar TCP creation calls.
    Affected if TCP sockets are bound to RPC service ports (commonly port 111 for portmap/rpcbind, or custom RPC service ports)
  4. Check OS version for affected Apple or SGI systems
    On Mac OS X, run `sw_vers` or `uname -a`. On IRIX, run `uname -a` or check `/etc/osversion`. Compare against the affected version list.
    Affected if The system is Mac OS X 10.0 through 10.2 (or Server 10.0/10.2/10.2.1) or IRIX 6.5.x or 2.3.1

A system is affected if it runs any of the listed glibc, IRIX, or Mac OS X versions AND exposes RPC services over TCP to untrusted networks, because the lack of read timeout allows slow-read attacks to hang RPC processes indefinitely.

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

Apply vendor patches for affected libc implementations; implement network-level timeouts on firewalls for RPC services; consider upgrading to modern RPC implementations with built-in timeouts.

Fix this in Glibc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
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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-2002-1265 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
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