CVE-2010-0393
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 · uneditedThe _cupsGetlang function, as used by lppasswd.c in lppasswd in CUPS 1.2.2, 1.3.7, 1.3.9, and 1.4.1, relies on an environment variable to determine the file that provides localized message strings, which allows local users to gain privileges via a file that contains crafted localization data with format string specifiers.
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 confidenceThe _cupsGetlang function in CUPS' lppasswd utility uses an environment variable to determine the path to a localization file without proper sanitization. A local attacker can set this environment variable to point to a malicious file containing format string specifiers (e.g., %s, %x), causing the format string vulnerability to be triggered when lppasswd processes the file, allowing arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the user running lppasswd (typically root).
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= 1.2.2= 1.3.7= 1.3.9= 1.4.1CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if CUPS is installedRun 'dpkg -l cups' (Debian/Ubuntu) or 'rpm -q cups' (RHEL/CentOS) or check for /usr/lib/cups directoryAffected if CUPS is not installed or package is not found
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Determine the installed CUPS versionRun 'cups-config --version' or check the package version with 'dpkg -l | grep cups' or 'rpm -qi cups'Affected if Version equals 1.2.2, 1.3.7, 1.3.9, or 1.4.1
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Locate the lppasswd utilityRun 'which lppasswd' or check for /usr/bin/lppasswdAffected if lppasswd binary exists on the system
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Verify the vulnerability conditionReview environment variables (LANG, LC_ALL, CUPS_LANG) that lppasswd could use for locale file paths; if untrusted users can set these before running lppasswd, the system is vulnerableAffected if Environment variables controlling locale paths are not restricted or sanitized before lppasswd execution
A system is affected if it runs Apple CUPS versions 1.2.2, 1.3.7, 1.3.9, or 1.4.1 and has the lppasswd utility with controllable locale environment variables.
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 dataUpdate CUPS to a patched version beyond 1.4.1. Alternatively, restrict or monitor environment variable manipulation for the CUPS user, though patching is the definitive solution.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-0393 — 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-2010-0393 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
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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