dbcve.org
Windows Services For UnixApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2007-3036

MEDIUM · 6.9 CVSS v2.0 Published 2007-09-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
74/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Unspecified vulnerability in the (1) Windows Services for UNIX 3.0 and 3.5, and (2) Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications in Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, and Vista allows local users to gain privileges via unspecified vectors related to "certain setuid binary files."

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

Local privilege escalation vulnerability in Windows Services for UNIX (SFU) 3.0/3.5 and Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications (SUA) on Windows 2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista. The flaw involves certain setuid binary files that can be exploited by local users to gain elevated privileges beyond their assigned permissions.

MitigationRemove or restrict permissions on vulnerable setuid binaries within SFU/SUA, or disable the Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications if not required for business operations.

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
Windows Services For UnixApplication
Affected:= 3.5= 3.0
Windows 2003 ServerOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows VistaOperating system
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
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 checks

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

  1. Check if Windows Services for UNIX (SFU) is installed
    Open Control Panel, go to Add or Remove Programs, and look for 'Windows Services for UNIX' or 'Microsoft Windows Services for UNIX'. Alternatively, check for the presence of the SFU installation directory, typically at C:\SFU or C:\Program Files\Windows Services for UNIX.
    Affected if SFU version 3.0 or 3.5 is installed on the system
  2. Check if Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications (SUA) is installed
    On Windows Vista or Server 2003, open Control Panel and look for 'Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications' in Programs and Features, or check if the SUA components are listed in the Windows Features dialog. The presence of the su.exe utility in C:\Windows\System32 may also indicate SUA installation.
    Affected if SUA is enabled on Windows Vista or Server 2003
  3. Locate setuid binary files within SFU/SUA installation
    Search for executable files in the SFU installation directory (commonly C:\SFU\bin) or the Windows System32 directory if SUA is present. Look for common setuid utilities such as su.exe, login.exe, or similar UNIX utilities that provide authentication or privilege escalation functions.
    Affected if Setuid binary files exist in the SFU or SUA installation directories
  4. Verify setuid permission attributes on binaries
    Right-click each identified binary file, select Properties, and examine the Attributes. Alternatively, use the attrib command from an elevated command prompt: attrib <filename>. Look for the 'S' attribute indicating a system file, though true setuid behavior in Windows is implemented through specific file permissions rather than UNIX-style permissions.
    Affected if The binaries have permissions that allow all users to execute them with elevated privileges
  5. Check file permissions on vulnerable binaries
    Right-click the binary files, go to Security tab, and review the permissions. Verify whether ordinary users have Read and Execute permissions, which would allow them to run the setuid binaries and potentially exploit the privilege escalation vulnerability.
    Affected if Ordinary (non-administrator) users have execute permissions on the setuid binaries

The system is affected if Windows Services for UNIX (SFU) 3.0/3.5 or Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications (SUA) is installed AND the setuid binary files are present with execute permissions available to non-administrator users.

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

Remove or restrict permissions on vulnerable setuid binaries within SFU/SUA, or disable the Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications if not required for business operations.

Fix this in Windows Services For Unix Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2007-3036 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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