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OpensuseOperating system

CVE-2011-0468

MEDIUM · 6.9 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-04-04
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
The aaa_base package before 11.3-8.9.1 in SUSE openSUSE 11.3, and before 11.4-54.62.1 in openSUSE 11.4, allows local users to gain privileges via shell metacharacters in a filename, related to tab expansion.

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 aaa_base package in SUSE openSUSE contains a privilege escalation vulnerability where shell metacharacters embedded in filenames can be executed during tab expansion/completion, allowing local users to gain elevated privileges.

MitigationUpgrade the aaa_base package to version 11.3-8.9.1 or later for openSUSE 11.3, or 11.4-54.62.1 or later for openSUSE 11.4, which contains the patched tab expansion logic.

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
OpensuseOperating system
Affected:= 11.3= 11.4

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. Verify aaa_base package is installed
    Run 'rpm -qa aaa_base' to query the installed package
    Affected if No package is returned (not installed, not affected)
  2. Retrieve installed aaa_base version
    Run 'rpm -q --queryformat '%{VERSION}-%{RELEASE}' aaa_base' to get the exact version-release string
    Affected if Version is 11.3 or 11.4 exactly (no additional fix version appended)
  3. Confirm shell tab completion is in use
    Verify bash or the default shell is actively used by the user, as the vulnerability triggers during tab expansion
    Affected if Tab completion is not used - the flaw cannot be triggered

A user is affected if aaa_base version is exactly 11.3 or 11.4 (the original unpatched releases) and they use shell tab completion, allowing arbitrary code execution via malicious filenames.

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 the aaa_base package to version 11.3-8.9.1 or later for openSUSE 11.3, or 11.4-54.62.1 or later for openSUSE 11.4, which contains the patched tab expansion logic.

Fix this in Opensuse Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2011-0468 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