Classic Buffer OverflowWeakness · CWE-120

CVE-2024-57392

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-02-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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
Buffer Overflow vulnerability in Proftpd commit 4017eff8 allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code and can cause a Denial of Service (DoS) on the FTP service by sending a maliciously crafted message to the ProFTPD service port.

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 · moderate confidence

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in ProFTPD (commit 4017eff8) where a remote attacker can send a maliciously crafted message to the FTP service port, triggering the overflow. This can lead to arbitrary code execution or denial of service on the affected FTP server.

MitigationUpdate ProFTPD to the version containing the fix for commit 4017eff8, or apply the specific patch from that commit. Implement network-level filtering to limit FTP access to trusted sources as an interim control.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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 ProFTPD installation
    Run 'proftpd -v' or 'proftpd --version' to check if ProFTPD is installed and obtain the version number. On Linux, also check package manager with 'rpm -qa | grep proftpd' or 'dpkg -l | grep proftpd'.
    Affected if ProFTPD is installed and running on the system
  2. Confirm the running service
    Check if the FTP daemon is actively listening. Run 'ps aux | grep proftpd' to verify the proftpd process is running, or 'netstat -tlnp | grep ftp' / 'ss -tlnp | grep ftp' to check for port 21 listening.
    Affected if ProFTPD is actively running and listening on FTP port(s)
  3. Determine ProFTPD version
    Compare the installed version against the fix point. The vulnerability is in the code before commit 4017eff8. Check the ProFTPD source code version or git log if accessible, or check vendor/security advisories for version information about when 4017eff8 was merged.
    Affected if The installed ProFTPD version predates the fix for commit 4017eff8 or the exact version status is unknown
  4. Check FTP port accessibility
    Determine if the FTP service port (default 21) is exposed to untrusted networks. Review firewall rules with 'iptables -L' or 'ufw status', and check network accessible ports with 'nmap -p 21 <target>' from an external perspective.
    Affected if Port 21 is accessible from untrusted or external network locations
  5. Review logs for exploit indicators
    Examine ProFTPD logs (typically in /var/log/proftpd/ or /var/log/xferlog) for unusual patterns, connection errors, or crashes that may indicate exploitation attempts. Search for malformed commands or unexpected input.
    Affected if Logs show crashes, errors, or suspicious malformed commands around the time of potential attack

The environment is affected if ProFTPD is running and the installed version predates the fix for commit 4017eff8, or if the version cannot be definitively confirmed as patched.

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

Update ProFTPD to the version containing the fix for commit 4017eff8, or apply the specific patch from that commit. Implement network-level filtering to limit FTP access to trusted sources as an interim control.

Have this fixed 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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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2024-57392 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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