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Ubuntu LinuxOperating system · Ubuntu

CVE-2006-3378

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 2006-07-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
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
passwd command in shadow in Ubuntu 5.04 through 6.06 LTS, when called with the -f, -g, or -s flag, does not check the return code of a setuid call, which might allow local users to gain root privileges if setuid fails in cases such as PAM failures or resource limits.

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

The passwd command in the shadow package on Ubuntu 5.04 through 6.06 LTS, when invoked with -f, -g, or -s flags, fails to check the return value of the setuid() system call. Since passwd is typically setuid root, if setuid fails due to PAM failures, resource limits, or other error conditions, the program continues execution without handling this failure, potentially allowing a local user to exploit the situation for privilege escalation.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of the shadow package or migrate to a supported Ubuntu release. If immediate patching is not possible, consider disabling setuid bit on passwd and using sudo-based alternatives, though this impacts functionality.

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
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 5.04= 5.10= 6.06_lts

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
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 checks

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

  1. Check Ubuntu version
    Run 'lsb_release -a' or check /etc/lsb-release to determine the Ubuntu version
    Affected if Version is 5.04, 5.10, or 6.06 LTS
  2. Check shadow package version
    Run 'dpkg -l | grep shadow' or 'dpkg -s login' to determine the installed version of the shadow package
    Affected if Package version corresponds to the affected Ubuntu versions listed (5.04, 5.10, or 6.06 LTS)
  3. Verify passwd is setuid root
    Run 'ls -l /usr/bin/passwd' and check for 's' in the permissions (e.g., '-rwsr-xr-x')
    Affected if The setuid bit is set on the passwd binary (typical on these systems)

A system is affected if it runs Ubuntu 5.04, 5.10, or 6.06 LTS with the shadow package version from those releases and the passwd binary retains its setuid root permissions.

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

Upgrade to a patched version of the shadow package or migrate to a supported Ubuntu release. If immediate patching is not possible, consider disabling setuid bit on passwd and using sudo-based alternatives, though this impacts functionality.

Fix this in Ubuntu Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2006-3378 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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