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Wu FtpdApplication · Washington University

CVE-2003-1327

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2003-12-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.6.2 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Buffer overflow in the SockPrintf function in wu-ftpd 2.6.2 and earlier, when compiled with MAIL_ADMIN option enabled on a system that supports very long pathnames, might allow remote anonymous users to execute arbitrary code by uploading a file with a long pathname, which triggers the overflow when wu-ftpd constructs a notification message to the administrator.

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 confidence

Buffer overflow in the SockPrintf function in wu-ftpd 2.6.2 and earlier, when compiled with MAIL_ADMIN option enabled, allows remote anonymous users to execute arbitrary code by uploading files with long pathnames that trigger overflows when constructing administrator notification messages.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of wu-ftpd, or if MAIL_ADMIN functionality is not required, recompile without the MAIL_ADMIN option enabled, or migrate to a maintained FTP server alternative.

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
Wu FtpdApplication
Affected:<= 2.6.2

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
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/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 checks

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

  1. Verify wu-ftpd is installed
    Check for the wu-ftpd binary (commonly at /usr/sbin/wu-ftpd or /usr/sbin/ftpd) or run 'rpm -q wu-ftpd' or 'dpkg -l | grep wu-ftpd' to list the installed package
    Affected if wu-ftpd is not present on the system, the system is not affected by this CVE
  2. Determine the installed wu-ftpd version
    Run 'wu-ftpd -v' or 'ftp version' if the daemon is running, or check the package version with 'rpm -q wu-ftpd' or 'dpkg -s wu-ftpd'
    Affected if The version is 2.6.2 or earlier, placing it within the affected range
  3. Check if MAIL_ADMIN was enabled at compile time
    Inspect the wu-ftpd binary for strings related to mail functionality, such as running 'strings <path_to_ftpd_binary> | grep -i mail' or checking configuration files in /etc or /etc/wu-ftpd/ for mail-related settings
    Affected if MAIL_ADMIN support is compiled into the binary (the vulnerability only applies when this compile-time option was enabled)
  4. Confirm anonymous FTP access is enabled
    Check if anonymous FTP is configured by reviewing /etc/ftpaccess or similar configuration files, and verify that the 'anonymous' user class is permitted to upload files
    Affected if Anonymous FTP users can upload files to the server (the attack requires remote anonymous users to upload files with long pathnames)

The system is affected if wu-ftpd version 2.6.2 or earlier is installed, was compiled with MAIL_ADMIN support enabled, and permits anonymous users to upload files.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.6.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to a patched version of wu-ftpd, or if MAIL_ADMIN functionality is not required, recompile without the MAIL_ADMIN option enabled, or migrate to a maintained FTP server alternative.

Recommended fix High confidence

Migrate to vsftpd, proftpd, or Pure-FTPd (wu-ftpd is abandoned with no supported 2.6.2 fix)

  1. 1. Identify all systems running wu-ftpd version 2.6.2 or earlier
  2. 2. Discontinue use of wu-ftpd as it is abandoned and no longer maintained
  3. 3. Migrate to a supported FTP server alternative such as vsftpd (recommended), proftpd, or Pure-FTPd
  4. 4. If migration is not immediately feasible, apply any available vendor/security patches from your Linux distribution for wu-ftpd
  5. 5. If patches are unavailable, rebuild wu-ftpd from source with the MAIL_ADMIN option disabled to reduce attack surface
  6. 6. Restrict anonymous upload permissions as an interim mitigation until migration is complete
Caveat Migration to a different FTP server will require configuration file changes and testing of user access patterns

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Wu Ftpd Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2003-1327 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data