CVE-2004-2698
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 · uneditedRace condition in IMWheel 1.0.0pre11 and earlier, when running with the -k option, allows local users to cause a denial of service (IMWheel crash) and possibly modify arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the imwheel.pid file.
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 confidenceA race condition in IMWheel versions 1.0.0pre11 and earlier allows local users to cause a denial of service and potentially modify arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the imwheel.pid file when the -k option is used. The vulnerability stems from a Time-of-Check-Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) issue in pid file handling.
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<= 1.0.0pre11CVSS 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
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify IMWheel versionRun 'imwheel --version' or check the package manager (e.g., 'rpm -q imwheel', 'dpkg -l imwheel') to determine the installed versionAffected if The version is 1.0.0pre11 or earlier (any version up to and including 1.0.0pre11)
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Verify -k option usageSearch startup scripts, configuration files, and any automation that launches imwheel for the -k flag (commonly found in /etc/rc.local, ~/.xinitrc, or systemd unit files)Affected if The -k option is present in any imwheel startup configuration or command line
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Locate imwheel.pid fileCheck the default pid file location (typically /var/run/imwheel.pid or look for it via 'ps aux | grep imwheel' and examine any pid file references)Affected if imwheel.pid file exists and is writable by the user running imwheel, or if the file location is on a world-writable directory
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Test for symlink vulnerabilityCreate a test symlink with a different target and attempt to observe if imwheel follows it when using -k (or inspect the source code if available for O_NOFOLLOW usage)Affected if The imwheel binary does not validate the imwheel.pid file for symlinks before use, allowing potential arbitrary file modification
You are affected if IMWheel version is 1.0.0pre11 or earlier AND the -k option is in use, as this combination enables the TOCTOU symlink attack on the pid file.
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 to a patched version of IMWheel that properly validates the imwheel.pid file location (checks for symlinks, uses O_NOFOLLOW, or employs secure file locking mechanisms). If no upgrade is available, avoid using the -k option.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 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-2004-2698 — 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-2004-2698 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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