CVE-2013-6442
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 owner_set function in smbcacls.c in smbcacls in Samba 4.0.x before 4.0.16 and 4.1.x before 4.1.6 removes an ACL during use of a --chown or --chgrp option, which allows remote attackers to bypass intended access restrictions in opportunistic circumstances by leveraging an unintended administrative change.
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 owner_set function in smbcacls.c (Samba's ACL management utility) has a flaw where it removes an ACL during use of the --chown or --chgrp options. This can allow remote attackers to bypass intended access restrictions in certain opportunistic circumstances by leveraging unintended administrative changes, effectively removing protection during ownership modifications.
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= 4.1.0= 4.1.1= 4.1.2= 4.1.3= 4.1.4= 4.1.5= 4.0.0= 4.0.1= 4.0.2= 4.0.3= 4.0.4= 4.0.5CVSS 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
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/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.
-
Identify installed Samba versionRun 'smbd --version' or 'samba --version' to obtain the exact Samba version number installed on the systemAffected if The version falls within 4.0.0 to 4.0.5 or 4.1.0 to 4.1.5 (note: later patch versions 4.0.16+ and 4.1.6+ are not affected)
-
Locate smbcacls binaryExecute 'which smbcacls' or 'find /usr -name smbcacls 2>/dev/null' to confirm the smbcacls utility is present on the systemAffected if The smbcacls binary exists on the system (vulnerability only applies to systems with this utility)
-
Review smbcacls usage patternsCheck command history, logs, or scripts for invocations of smbcacls with the --chown or --chgrp optionsAffected if The --chown or --chgrp options have been used with smbcacls (these are the specific operations that trigger the flawed code path)
A system is affected if it runs Samba version 4.0.0-4.0.5 or 4.1.0-4.1.5 AND has the smbcacls utility in use with --chown or --chgrp options, allowing ACL removal during ownership changes.
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 Samba to version 4.0.16 or later (4.0.x) or 4.1.6 or later (4.1.x). If upgrading is not immediately possible, avoid using --chown or --chgrp options in smbcacls in untrusted environments.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $2,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-6442 — 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-2013-6442 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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