dbcve.org
UxApplication · Citadel

CVE-2004-1192

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2005-01-10
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
Format string vulnerability in the lprintf function in Citadel/UX 6.27 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via format string specifiers sent to the server.

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

Format string vulnerability in the lprintf function in Citadel/UX versions 6.27 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by sending format string specifiers directly to the server without proper input sanitization.

MitigationUpdate Citadel/UX to a version beyond 6.27 that contains the patch, or implement input validation to sanitize format string specifiers (%s, %x, %n, etc.) from user-supplied data before passing it to the lprintf function.

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
UxApplication
Affected:= 6.07= 6.08= 6.23= 6.24= 6.26= 6.27

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
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/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 checks

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

  1. Identify Citadel/UX installation
    Search for Citadel/UX binary or package: 'which citadel' on Linux/Unix, or check installation directories (commonly /usr/lib/citadel, /opt/citadel). Check running processes for 'citadel' or 'citserver'.
    Affected if Citadel/UX is installed and the version is 6.27 or earlier (6.07, 6.08, 6.23, 6.24, 6.26, 6.27). Compare your installed version to these affected ranges.
  2. Determine Citadel service version
    Run the citadel binary with version flag if available (citadel --version, citserver -v) or check package manager: 'dpkg -l | grep citadel' (Debian) or 'rpm -qa | grep citadel' (RPM-based).
    Affected if The reported version matches 6.27 or any earlier version listed in the affected range.
  3. Verify Citadel network service is running
    Check listening ports: 'netstat -tlnp | grep -E "504|505"' or 'ss -tlnp | grep -E "504|505"' (Citadel typically listens on these ports). Also check process status: 'ps aux | grep citadel'.
    Affected if The Citadel server is running and accepting network connections, exposing the lprintf function to remote input.
  4. Inspect lprintf function exposure
    Review Citadel configuration files (usually in /etc/citadel or /usr/local/citadel) for network access settings. Check if the server accepts direct user input without preprocessing. Look for EnableAuth=1 or similar authentication settings.
    Affected if The Citadel service is network-accessible and accepts user-supplied strings that could be passed to the lprintf function without format string sanitization.

A system is affected if Citadel/UX version 6.27 or earlier is installed and the service is running and network-accessible, allowing unsanitized format string input to reach the lprintf function.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update Citadel/UX to a version beyond 6.27 that contains the patch, or implement input validation to sanitize format string specifiers (%s, %x, %n, etc.) from user-supplied data before passing it to the lprintf function.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Citadel/UX version 6.28 or later (ideally latest stable release available from the vendor)

  1. 1. Identify the current Citadel/UX version by running: 'citadel --version' or checking the package management system
  2. 2. Backup all Citadel/UX configuration files, user data, and the message database before upgrading
  3. 3. Stop the Citadel/UX service: 'service citadel stop' or 'rcitadel stop'
  4. 4. Upgrade Citadel/UX to the latest available version using the system's package manager (e.g., 'apt-get update && apt-get upgrade citadel' or 'yum update citadel')
  5. 5. Verify the new version is installed: 'citadel --version'
  6. 6. Start the Citadel/UX service: 'service citadel start' or 'rcitadel start'
  7. 7. Test that the server accepts connections and functions normally
  8. 8. Review Citadel/UX logs to confirm no errors during startup
Caveat Minor - may require configuration file migration if upgrading across major version jumps; test in staging environment first

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

Fix this in Ux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $2,000
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,200.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2004-1192 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2004-1192 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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