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Kerberos 5Application · Mit

CVE-2011-0285

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-04-15
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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
The process_chpw_request function in schpw.c in the password-changing functionality in kadmind in MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) 1.7 through 1.9 frees an invalid pointer, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (daemon crash) via a crafted request that triggers an error condition.

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

A memory corruption vulnerability exists in the kadmind daemon of MIT Kerberos 5 versions 1.7 through 1.9. The process_chpw_request function in schpw.c incorrectly frees a pointer during password change operations when an error condition occurs in a crafted request, leading to potential arbitrary code execution or daemon crash.

MitigationUpgrade to MIT Kerberos 5 version 1.10 or later to obtain the patched code. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, consider restricting network access to kadmind or disabling password change functionality until the upgrade can be performed.

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
Kerberos 5Application
Affected:= 1.7= 1.7.1= 1.8= 1.8.1= 1.8.2= 1.8.3= 1.9

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
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/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. Identify MIT Kerberos 5 version
    Run 'klist -V' or 'kadmin --version' to display the installed MIT Kerberos 5 version number
    Affected if The version displayed is 1.7, 1.7.1, 1.8, 1.8.1, 1.8.2, 1.8.3, or 1.9
  2. Confirm kadmind daemon is present
    Check for the kadmind binary location, typically in /usr/sbin/kadmind or /usr/libexec/kadmind, and verify it exists on the system
    Affected if The kadmind binary exists and the version from step 1 is within the affected range
  3. Determine if kadmind daemon is running
    Run 'ps aux | grep kadmind' or check your system's service manager (such as systemctl, service, or init.d scripts) to see if the kadmind process is active
    Affected if The kadmind daemon is running and the version from step 1 is within the affected range
  4. Check if password change functionality is accessible
    Verify that port 464 (the default kadmin port for password change requests) is open and listening, or inspect kadmind configuration in kdc.conf or kadm5.acl for password change policy settings
    Affected if Password change requests are enabled (port 464 is accessible or chpw principal is configured) and the version from step 1 is within the affected range

A system is affected if MIT Kerberos 5 versions 1.7 through 1.9 are installed with the kadmind daemon running and password change functionality enabled.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch web.mit.edu →
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to MIT Kerberos 5 version 1.10 or later to obtain the patched code. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, consider restricting network access to kadmind or disabling password change functionality until the upgrade can be performed.

Recommended fix High confidence

MIT Kerberos 5 version 1.8.2 or later (1.9+)

  1. 1. Identify all systems running MIT Kerberos 5 (kadmind) versions 1.7, 1.7.1, 1.8, or 1.8.1
  2. 2. Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade
  3. 3. Backup the current Kerberos configuration and database
  4. 4. Download MIT Kerberos 5 version 1.8.2 or later (preferably 1.9 or latest stable) from a trusted source such as MIT Kerberos distribution
  5. 5. Stop the kadmind service on all affected hosts before upgrading
  6. 6. Install the upgraded Kerberos 5 packages using your system's package manager or compile from source
  7. 7. Verify the installed version matches the fixed release (1.8.2 or higher)
  8. 8. Restart the kadmind service
Caveat Minor version upgrades typically preserve configuration, but test in staging first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Kerberos 5 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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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-2011-0285 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