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PortageApplication · Gentoo

CVE-2004-2778

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-06-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Ebuild in Gentoo may change directory and file permissions depending on the order of installed packages, which allows local users to read or write to restricted directories or execute restricted commands via navigating to the affected directories, or executing the affected commands.

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 confidence

In Gentoo Linux, the ebuild packaging system can set incorrect directory and file permissions depending on the order in which packages are installed. When packages are installed in certain sequences, the final permissions on directories or files may become more permissive than intended, allowing local unprivileged users to read/write to restricted directories or execute privileged commands.

MitigationReview and audit ebuild scripts that modify file/directory permissions to ensure consistent permission settings regardless of package installation order. Consider implementing permission reset scripts that enforce correct ACLs after package installation.

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
PortageApplication
Affected:all versions

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

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 Gentoo Portage is in use
    Check for the presence of /usr/bin/emerge or /usr/lib/portage/ directory, and confirm the system is running Gentoo Linux (e.g., cat /etc/os-release shows Gentoo)
    Affected if The system runs Gentoo Linux with Portage package manager installed - all versions are potentially affected
  2. Audit world-writable directories
    Run 'find / -type d -perm -002 ! -path /proc ! -path /sys' to find directories with world-writable permissions, then manually review if any restricted system directories (like /etc, /var, /root) unexpectedly have world-write access
    Affected if Sensitive system directories such as /etc, /var/lib, or configuration directories under /root are world-writable when they should not be
  3. Check for unintended executable permissions on sensitive files
    Run 'find /etc -type f -perm -001' to list executable files in /etc, and verify if any configuration or sensitive files have execute bit set inappropriately
    Affected if Configuration files or scripts in /etc have executable permissions when they should only be readable/writable by root
  4. Verify file ownership and permissions in package-managed directories
    Use 'ls -la /var/db/pkg' to inspect permissions on package database files, and compare 'ls -la /usr/lib' directory permissions against expected restrictive defaults
    Affected if Files or directories managed by Portage show permissions more permissive than the package intended (e.g., 777 instead of 755, or world-writable when not expected)
  5. Review umask setting during package installation
    Check the current system umask with 'umask' and review /etc/profile or /etc/bash/bashrc for umask definitions; then test by emerging a test package and checking permissions on newly created files
    Affected if System umask is set to a permissive value (like 000 or 022) that combined with the order-dependent permission bug results in overly permissive files

A Gentoo system is likely affected if sensitive system directories or files have unexpectedly permissive permissions (world-writable or inappropriately executable) that violate standard security defaults, regardless of the order in which packages were installed.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Review and audit ebuild scripts that modify file/directory permissions to ensure consistent permission settings regardless of package installation order. Consider implementing permission reset scripts that enforce correct ACLs after package installation.

Fix this in Portage Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2004-2778 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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