CVE-2003-0490
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 Dantz Retrospect Client 5.0.540 on MacOS X 10.2.6, and possibly other versions, creates critical directories and files with world-writable permissions, which allows local users to gain privileges as other users by replacing programs with malicious code.
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 confidenceDantz Retrospect Client 5.0.540 installation on MacOS X 10.2.6 creates critical directories and files with world-writable (777) permissions, allowing any local user to modify or replace executables with malicious code to escalate privileges to other users.
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= 5.0.540CVSS 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.
-
Verify Retrospect Client versionCheck if Dantz Retrospect Client version 5.0.540 is installed. Look in /Applications folder or use system Profiler/installer receipt utilities to confirm the exact version number.Affected if Retrospect Client version 5.0.540 is installed
-
Locate Retrospect Client installation directoryIdentify the installation path. Common locations include /Applications/Retrospect, /Library/Application Support/Retrospect, or /Library/StartupItems/Retrospect on Mac OS X.Affected if Retrospect Client installation directory exists on the system
-
Check directory permissionsRun 'ls -la' on the Retrospect Client directories. Examine the permission bits to determine if directories show 'drwxrwxrwx' (777) or similar world-writable modes.Affected if Any Retrospect Client directory has world-writable permissions (mode 777 or equivalent)
-
Check executable and file permissionsRun 'ls -la' on executables and configuration files within the Retrospect Client directories. Look for files with world-writable permissions that could be replaced by a local attacker.Affected if Executables or configuration files have world-writable permissions
The system is affected if Retrospect Client 5.0.540 is installed AND any of its directories or files have world-writable (777) permissions, allowing any local user to modify executables for privilege escalation.
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 dataChange permissions on installed Retrospect Client directories and files to remove world-writable access (chmod 755 or stricter), or reinstall with corrected permission settings, and verify the client still functions properly.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $1,664.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2003-0490 — 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-2003-0490 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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