dbcve.org
FedoraOperating system · Fedoraproject

CVE-2009-2813

MEDIUM · 6.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-09-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
66/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
Samba 3.4 before 3.4.2, 3.3 before 3.3.8, 3.2 before 3.2.15, and 3.0.12 through 3.0.36, as used in the SMB subsystem in Apple Mac OS X 10.5.8 when Windows File Sharing is enabled, Fedora 11, and other operating systems, does not properly handle errors in resolving pathnames, which allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended sharing restrictions, and read, create, or modify files, in certain circumstances involving user accounts that lack home directories.

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

Samba fails to properly handle errors during pathname resolution when user accounts lack home directories, allowing authenticated remote users to bypass intended sharing restrictions and read, create, or modify files they should not have access to.

MitigationUpgrade to Samba 3.4.2+, 3.3.8+, 3.2.15+, or 3.0.37+ and ensure all user accounts have properly configured home directories.

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
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 11
SambaApplication
Affected:= 3.0.12= 3.0.13= 3.0.14= 3.0.14a= 3.0.15= 3.0.16= 3.0.17= 3.0.18= 3.0.19= 3.0.20= 3.0.20a= 3.0.20b
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:= 10.5.8
Mac Os X ServerOperating system
Affected:= 10.5.8

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
Network
Complexity
M
Authentication
Single
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P

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. Determine Samba version
    Run 'smbd --version' or check the package manager (rpm -q samba for Red Hat/Fedora, dpkg -l samba for Debian/Ubuntu, or 'sw_vers' for Mac OS X)
    Affected if The installed version matches one of the affected versions: 3.0.12 through 3.0.20b (for Samba), or the system is Fedora 11, or Mac OS X 10.5.8 Server
  2. Identify user accounts with Samba access
    Review /etc/passwd and check which users have valid shell access and Samba user database entries (pdbedit -L or smbpasswd -L)
    Affected if There are user accounts in the Samba user database that either have an empty home directory field (/sbin/nologin or /false/) or a home directory that does not exist on the filesystem
  3. Verify share configuration
    Examine the Samba configuration file (smb.conf, typically in /etc/samba/ or /etc/) and check share definitions, particularly looking for shares that use 'force user' or allow wide filesystem access
    Affected if Shares are configured that could allow a user without a valid home directory to access files outside the intended share boundaries due to path resolution failures
  4. Test pathname resolution behavior
    As an authenticated Samba user without a valid home directory, attempt to access paths outside a share (e.g., using '..' navigation or absolute paths like /etc) to see if restrictions are bypassed
    Affected if The user can read, create, or modify files in directories outside their intended share scope, indicating the path resolution vulnerability is present

The environment is affected if the Samba version is among the vulnerable 3.0.x releases (3.0.12 through 3.0.20b) or if using Fedora 11 or Mac OS X 10.5.8, AND there exist Samba-authenticated user accounts that lack properly configured or existing home directories, allowing potential path traversal outside share boundaries.

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 Samba 3.4.2+, 3.3.8+, 3.2.15+, or 3.0.37+ and ensure all user accounts have properly configured home directories.

Fix this in Fedora Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2009-2813 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
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