CVE-2006-2162
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 · uneditedBuffer overflow in CGI scripts in Nagios 1.x before 1.4 and 2.x before 2.3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a negative content length (Content-Length) HTTP header.
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 confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerability in Nagios CGI scripts where improper validation of negative Content-Length HTTP headers allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code. The issue affects Nagios 1.x before 1.4 and 2.x before 2.3.
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<= 1.3<= 2.2CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Identify Nagios installation and versionRun 'nagios --version' or check /usr/local/nagios/etc/htpassd.users for Nagios config files, or look for nagios binary at /usr/local/nagios/bin/nagios and query its version with -v flagAffected if Installed version is Nagios 1.3 or earlier, or any 2.x version up to 2.2 (versions below 1.4 or below 2.3)
-
Locate CGI scripts directoryCommon paths are /usr/local/nagios/sbin/ or /usr/lib/cgi-bin/nagios/ - check the Nagios configuration file (nagios.conf) for 'cgi.cfg' path and 'url_html_stylesheet' settings to find the CGI directoryAffected if CGI scripts exist and are accessible via web server (typically under /nagios/cgi-bin/)
-
Verify web server serves Nagios CGIsCheck web server config (Apache httpd.conf, nginx.conf) for Alias or ScriptAlias directives mapping to Nagios CGI directory, e.g., 'ScriptAlias /nagios/cgi-bin/ /usr/local/nagios/sbin/'Affected if Web server is configured to execute Nagios CGI scripts (status.cgi, extinfo.cgi, cmd.cgi, etc.)
-
Confirm vulnerable code path existsInspect the CGI binary files (status.cgi, extinfo.cgi) for version: strings /usr/local/nagios/sbin/status.cgi | grep -i version, or check file headersAffected if CGI scripts are the original unpatched versions from affected Nagios releases (1.3 or earlier, or 2.2 or earlier)
User is affected if Nagios version is 1.4未达 or 2.3未达 (i.e., 1.3 or earlier, or 2.2 or earlier) AND the CGI scripts are accessible via a web server, since the vulnerability requires both the unpatched binary and HTTP request handling to be exploitable.
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 Nagios 1.4 or 2.3 or later to obtain the patched version, or implement web server-level input validation to reject negative Content-Length values.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2006-2162 — 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-2006-2162 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
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.
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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data