CVE-2004-2554
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 · uneditedNovell Client Firewall (NCF) 2.0, as based on the Agnitum Outpost Firewall, allows local users to execute arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges by opening the NCF tray icon and using the Help functionality to launch programs with SYSTEM privileges.
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 confidenceNovell Client Firewall (NCF) 2.0, built on Agnitum Outpost Firewall, contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability where the Help functionality accessible through the system tray icon allows local users to launch arbitrary programs with SYSTEM-level privileges, bypassing intended security restrictions.
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= 2.0CVSS 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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Verify Novell Client Firewall 2.0 installationCheck the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Novell\Client Firewall or look for the NCF installation directory (typically C:\Novell\NCF or similar). Use 'reg query HKLM\SOFTWARE\Novell\Client Firewall' or inspect Add/Remove Programs for 'Novell Client Firewall 2.0'.Affected if Novell Client Firewall version 2.0 is installed on the system.
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Confirm the Help tray icon component existsCheck for the NCF system tray icon component file (often ncftray.exe or similar in the NCF installation folder). Look in the installation directory for files related to the Help interface.Affected if The NCF tray icon and Help functionality component files are present on the system.
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Verify Help functionality is accessibleRight-click the NCF system tray icon and check if a Help menu option is available. If the tray icon is present and the Help menu option exists, the vulnerability is potentially exploitable.Affected if The Help option is accessible through the NCF system tray icon menu.
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Check SYSTEM-level service contextVerify that the NCF service runs with elevated privileges. Check the Windows service for Novell Client Firewall in Services.msc - if it runs as Local System or SYSTEM account, the Help function could be abused for privilege escalation.Affected if NCF runs as SYSTEM or Local System account and the Help feature is accessible to standard users.
The system is affected if Novell Client Firewall 2.0 is installed with the Help functionality accessible through the system tray icon, allowing a standard user to launch programs with SYSTEM privileges.
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 or disable the Help functionality in NCF 2.0, limit local user access to the NCF tray icon, and consider migrating to a supported endpoint protection solution as NCF 2.0 is likely end-of-life.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2004-2554 — 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-2004-2554 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