CVE-2011-2907
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 · uneditedTerascale Open-Source Resource and Queue Manager (aka TORQUE Resource Manager) 3.0.1 and earlier allows remote attackers to bypass host-based authentication and submit arbitrary jobs via a modified PBS_O_HOST variable to the qsub program.
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 confidenceTORQUE Resource Manager 3.0.1 and earlier fails to properly validate the PBS_O_HOST environment variable in the qsub command, allowing remote attackers to spoof the originating host and bypass host-based authentication. This enables arbitrary job submission to the cluster without legitimate host credentials.
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<= 3.0.1= 2.1.0= 2.1.0p11= 2.1.1= 2.1.2= 2.1.3= 2.1.6= 2.1.7= 2.1.8= 2.1.9= 2.1.10= 2.1.11CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify TORQUE versionRun `qsub --version` or check the installed package via system package manager (e.g., `rpm -q torque` or `dpkg -l torque`)Affected if The installed version is 3.0.1 or earlier, or matches any of these specific versions: 2.1.0, 2.1.0p11, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.1.6, 2.1.7, 2.1.8, 2.1.9, 2.1.10, or 2.1.11
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Confirm qsub is accessibleVerify the qsub binary exists and is executable by running `which qsub` and confirming it returns a pathAffected if qsub is present and available to users on the system
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Check host-based authentication configurationExamine the TORQUE server configuration file (typically /var/spool/torque/server_priv/nodes or /var/spool/torque/sched_config) and look for host-based authentication settingsAffected if Host-based authentication (trust authentication) is enabled, allowing jobs to be submitted based on the originating host without additional credentials
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Verify PBS_O_HOST is not validatedAttempt to submit a test job with a manipulated PBS_O_HOST environment variable (e.g., `PBS_O_HOST=fakehost qsub -l nodes=1 script.sh`) and observe if the job is accepted without host verificationAffected if The job is accepted and runs without validating that the specified PBS_O_HOST matches the actual source host
You are affected if TORQUE version 3.0.1 or earlier is installed, qsub is accessible, and host-based authentication is in use without additional validation of the PBS_O_HOST environment variable.
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 dataUpgrade TORQUE to a version newer than 3.0.1 that addresses this vulnerability. Until patched, implement additional authentication controls such as Kerberos or munge, and restrict qsub access at the network level.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-2907 — 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-2011-2907 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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