OwncloudApplication
CVE-2013-1941
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 installation routine in ownCloud Server before 4.0.14, 4.5.x before 4.5.9, and 5.0.x before 5.0.4 uses the time function to seed the generation of the PostgreSQL database user password, which makes it easier for remote attackers to guess the password via a brute force attack.
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 ownCloud Server installation routine uses the PHP time() function as the seed for generating PostgreSQL database user passwords. Since time() returns the Unix timestamp (seconds since epoch), the entropy is extremely low - only thousands of possible values rather than billions. An attacker can brute-force the password by trying values from a narrow time range around when installation occurred.
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
OwncloudApplication
<= 4.0.13
Owncloud ServerApplication
= 4.0.0= 4.0.1= 4.0.2= 4.0.3= 4.0.4= 4.0.5= 4.0.6= 4.0.7= 4.0.8= 4.0.9= 4.0.10= 4.0.11CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
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 ownCloud versionLocate the version file (typically version.php in the ownCloud root directory or check the admin panel under Server info). Alternatively, check the owncloud version in the config/config.php file if it exists.Affected if The installed version is 4.0.0 through 4.0.13, or any version <= 4.0.13 for the Owncloud product line.
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Confirm PostgreSQL is the database backendInspect the ownCloud configuration file (config/config.php) and look for the 'dbtype' setting. Common values include 'pgsql' for PostgreSQL, 'mysql', or 'sqlite'.Affected if The 'dbtype' is set to 'pgsql' or 'postgres', indicating PostgreSQL is in use.
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Verify installation occurred with vulnerable versionCheck the 'installed' timestamp or installation date in the ownCloud config/config.php file. This indicates when ownCloud was initially installed.Affected if The installation timestamp predates the availability of patched versions (4.0.14, 4.5.9, or 5.0.4), and the database type is PostgreSQL.
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Inspect PostgreSQL connection credentialsReview the config/config.php file for 'dbpassword' or similar fields containing the PostgreSQL database user password that was set during installation.Affected if A PostgreSQL password exists in the configuration file and was generated during the initial installation on a vulnerable version.
A user is affected if ownCloud version 4.0.0 through 4.0.13 is installed with PostgreSQL as the database backend, and the database password was generated during the vulnerable installation routine.
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 ownCloud to version 4.0.14, 4.5.9, or 5.0.4 or later. For existing deployments using vulnerable versions, regenerate the PostgreSQL database user password using a cryptographically secure random source and update the configuration file.
Fix this in Owncloud
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-1941 — 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-2013-1941 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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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.
- 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