CVE-2003-0221
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 · uneditedThe (1) dupatch and (2) setld utilities in HP Tru64 UNIX 5.1B PK1 and earlier allows local users to overwrite files and possibly gain root privileges via a symlink attack.
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 confidenceThis is a symlink attack vulnerability in HP Tru64 UNIX 5.1B PK1 and earlier where the dupatch and setld utilities create files without proper validation, allowing local attackers to overwrite sensitive files (potentially including system files) by creating malicious symlinks. Successful exploitation can lead to root privilege escalation.
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<= 5.1bCVSS 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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Identify the operating systemRun 'uname -a' or 'cat /etc/os-release' to confirm the system is HP Tru64 UNIXAffected if The OS is not HP Tru64 UNIX (not affected)
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Check Tru64 UNIX versionRun 'cat /usr/opt/CPQssm/etc/tru64_version 2>/dev/null' or check system documentation for the installed version numberAffected if Version is 5.1b or earlier (potentially affected)
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Verify dupatch utility presenceCheck if /usr/sbin/dupatch or /sbin/dupatch exists using 'ls -la <path>/dupatch'Affected if The dupatch utility exists on the system (vulnerable code path present)
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Verify setld utility presenceCheck if /usr/sbin/setld or /sbin/setld exists using 'ls -la <path>/setld'Affected if The setld utility exists on the system (vulnerable code path present)
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Check permissions on vulnerable utilitiesRun 'ls -la /usr/sbin/dupatch /usr/sbin/setld' (or appropriate paths) to examine owner, group, and world execute permissionsAffected if World-writable or executable by untrusted users (exploitation possible)
System is affected if running HP Tru64 UNIX version 5.1b or earlier with the dupatch or setld utilities present and accessible to untrusted 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 dataApply the vendor patch from HP for Tru64 UNIX 5.1B PK1 and earlier. If no patch is available, restrict execution permissions on dupatch and setld utilities to trusted users only, or implement file integrity monitoring to detect unauthorized file modifications.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2003-0221 — 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-2003-0221 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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- 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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