LinuxOperating system · Gentoo
CVE-2004-0496
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 · uneditedMultiple unknown vulnerabilities in Linux kernel 2.6 allow local users to gain privileges or access kernel memory, a different set of vulnerabilities than those identified in CVE-2004-0495, as found by the Sparse source code checking tool.
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 confidenceMultiple local privilege escalation and kernel memory access vulnerabilities in Linux kernel 2.6, discovered through Sparse static source code analysis. The vulnerabilities allow local users to potentially elevate privileges or read protected kernel memory, representing a different vulnerability class than CVE-2004-0495.
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
LinuxOperating system
all versions
Linux KernelOperating system
= 2.6.0= 8.2= 3= 3.1all versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS 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 running kernel versionRun 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version' to obtain the exact kernel version stringAffected if The kernel version begins with '2.6.0' or falls within the early 2.6.x branch (e.g., 2.6.0 through 2.6.x versions prior to vendor patches)
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Confirm the kernel is the 2.6 branchCheck if the version string starts with '2.6.' using the output from uname -rAffected if The kernel major.minor version is 2.6.x and the specific subversion is unpatched
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Identify the Linux distributionRun 'cat /etc/os-release' or distribution-specific commands such as 'lsb_release -a' for Red Hat-based systems, or check /etc/gentoo-release for GentooAffected if The system runs Gentoo Linux (any version), Mandrakesoft Mandrake Multi Network Firewall 8.2, or any Suse product variant listed (Suse Email Server 3/3.1, Connectivity Server, Database Server, Firewall, or Office Server)
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Determine if kernel source or patches are appliedCheck /usr/src/linux/Makefile for the VERSION, PATCHLEVEL, SUBLEVEL, and EXTRAVERSION fields, or check if vendor security advisories have been appliedAffected if The kernel source code corresponds to an unpatched 2.6.0 or early 2.6.x tree and no vendor-specific kernel update has been installed
A system is affected if it runs an unpatched Linux kernel 2.6.0 or early 2.6.x versions on any of the affected Gentoo, Mandrake, or Suse distributions listed, as these contain the local privilege escalation and kernel memory access vulnerabilities.
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 dataUpgrade Linux kernel 2.6 to a patched version that addresses these vulnerabilities, or migrate to a supported kernel branch; apply any available vendor-specific kernel updates for affected systems.
Fix this in Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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 $3,328.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2004-0496 — 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-2004-0496 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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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
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