CVE-2003-0414
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 installation of Sun ONE Application Server 7.0 for Windows 2000/XP creates a statefile with world-readable permissions, which allows local users to gain privileges by reading a plaintext password in the statefile.
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 confidenceThe Sun ONE Application Server 7.0 installer for Windows creates a statefile during installation with overly permissive access controls that allow any local user on the system to read the file. This statefile contains a password stored in plaintext, enabling an unprivileged local user to obtain credentials and escalate 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= 7.0CVSS 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 Sun ONE Application Server 7.0 installationCheck if Sun ONE Application Server version 7.0 is installed on the Windows system. Look in Add/Remove Programs or check the installation directory (commonly under C:\Sun or C:\Program Files\Sun).Affected if Sun ONE Application Server 7.0 is installed on the system.
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Locate the installer statefileSearch for statefile or state file created during installation. These files are typically stored in the installation directory or in a temp folder used by the installer. Use file search tools to locate files with 'state' in the name within the Sun application directories.Affected if A statefile exists from the installation process.
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Verify file permissions on the statefileRight-click the statefile, go to Properties > Security tab. Check the permissions listed under 'Group or user names'. Verify if Users, Everyone, or other non-privileged accounts have Read access to this file.Affected if Users group, Everyone, or other non-administrator accounts have Read permissions on the statefile.
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Examine statefile contents for plaintext credentialsOpen the statefile using a text editor (such as Notepad). Search for fields that may contain passwords, keys, or credential data stored in plaintext format.Affected if The statefile contains plaintext passwords or sensitive credential data readable by any user.
A user is affected if Sun ONE Application Server 7.0 is installed and the statefile created during installation is readable by non-privileged local users due to overly permissive file permissions.
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 permissions on the statefile toAdministrators and the service account only, or modify the application to store credentials securely using Windows DPAPI or hashed values instead of plaintext passwords.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2003-0414 — 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-2003-0414 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data