FreeBSDOperating system
CVE-2002-1915
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 · uneditedtip on multiple BSD-based operating systems allows local users to cause a denial of service (execution prevention) by using flock() to lock the /var/log/acculog file.
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 confidenceThe tip terminal communication program on multiple BSD-based operating systems allows local users to cause a denial of service by using flock() to lock the /var/log/acculog file. This prevents other users from executing tip or causes execution failure due to the locked log file.
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
FreeBSDOperating system
= 3.5= 3.5.1= 4.0= 4.1= 4.1.1= 4.2= 4.3= 4.4= 4.5= 4.6= 5.0= 1.0= 1.1= 1.2= 1.2.1= 1.3= 1.3.1= 1.3.2= 1.3.3= 1.4= 1.4.1= 1.4.2= 1.4.3= 2.0= 2.1= 2.2= 2.3= 2.4= 2.5= 2.6= 2.7= 2.8= 2.9= 3.0= 3.1CVSS 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
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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 the tip command is installedRun `which tip` or `type tip` to locate the tip binary. Also check `/usr/bin/tip` and `/usr/sbin/tip` directly.Affected if The tip command exists on the system and the OS version matches the affected ranges.
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Identify the operating system and versionRun `uname -a` or check `/etc/os-release` for Linux, or `uname -sr` for BSD variants. For FreeBSD use `uname -r`, for NetBSD use `uname -r`, for OpenBSD use `uname -r`.Affected if The OS is FreeBSD 3.5-5.0, NetBSD 1.0-4.3, or OpenBSD 2.0-3.1.
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Verify /var/log/acculog file exists and permissionsRun `ls -la /var/log/acculog` to check if the file exists and view its owner, group, and permission bits.Affected if The file exists and is writable by unprivileged users (world-writable or group-writable).
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Test file locking capability by unprivileged usersAs a non-root user, run `flock /var/log/acculog -c echo 'test'` to attempt locking the file. If successful, the vulnerability can be exploited.Affected if The lock is successfully acquired by a non-privileged user, preventing other users from using tip.
The environment is affected if tip is installed on a vulnerable BSD variant (FreeBSD 3.5-5.0, NetBSD 1.0-4.3, or OpenBSD 2.0-3.1) and unprivileged users can lock /var/log/acculog, causing denial of service for other tip users.
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 dataRestrict write permissions on /var/log/acculog to prevent unprivileged users from locking it, or apply vendor patches to modify tip's file locking behavior to use non-blocking locks or alternative logging mechanisms.
Fix this in FreeBSD
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,664.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2002-1915 — 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-2002-1915 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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