rhsa-2004:304
Vulnerability from csaf_redhat
Published
2004-08-18 15:12
Modified
2025-11-21 17:27
Summary
Red Hat Security Advisory: pam security update
Notes
Topic
Updated pam packages that fix a security vulnerability are now available
for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1.
Details
PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules) is a system security tool that
allows system administrators to set an authentication policy without
having to recompile programs that handle authentication.
These updates fix a potential security problem present in the
pam_wheel module. These updates correct a bug in the pam_lastlog
module which prevented it from properly manipulating the /var/log/lastlog
entry for users with very high user IDs.
The pam_wheel module is used to restrict access to a particular service
based on group membership. If the pam_wheel module was used with the
"trust" option enabled, but without the "use_uid" option, any local
user would be able to spoof the username returned by getlogin(). The user
could therefore gain access to a superuser account without supplying a
password. In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1, pam_wheel is not used by
default. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org)
has assigned the name CAN-2003-0388 to this issue.
When manipulating the entry in /var/log/lastlog, which corresponds to a
given user, the pam_lastlog module calculates the location of the entry by
multiplying the UID and the length of an entry in the file. On some
systems, the result of this calculation would mistakenly be truncated to 32
bits for users with sufficiently high UIDs.
All users of pam should upgrade to these updated packages, which
resolve these issues.
Terms of Use
This content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). If you distribute this content, or a modified version of it, you must provide attribution to Red Hat Inc. and provide a link to the original.
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"notes": [
{
"category": "summary",
"text": "Updated pam packages that fix a security vulnerability are now available\nfor Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1.",
"title": "Topic"
},
{
"category": "general",
"text": "PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules) is a system security tool that\nallows system administrators to set an authentication policy without\nhaving to recompile programs that handle authentication.\n\nThese updates fix a potential security problem present in the\npam_wheel module. These updates correct a bug in the pam_lastlog\nmodule which prevented it from properly manipulating the /var/log/lastlog\nentry for users with very high user IDs.\n\nThe pam_wheel module is used to restrict access to a particular service\nbased on group membership. If the pam_wheel module was used with the\n\"trust\" option enabled, but without the \"use_uid\" option, any local\nuser would be able to spoof the username returned by getlogin(). The user\ncould therefore gain access to a superuser account without supplying a\npassword. In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1, pam_wheel is not used by\ndefault. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org)\nhas assigned the name CAN-2003-0388 to this issue.\n\nWhen manipulating the entry in /var/log/lastlog, which corresponds to a\ngiven user, the pam_lastlog module calculates the location of the entry by\nmultiplying the UID and the length of an entry in the file. On some\nsystems, the result of this calculation would mistakenly be truncated to 32\nbits for users with sufficiently high UIDs.\n\nAll users of pam should upgrade to these updated packages, which\nresolve these issues.",
"title": "Details"
},
{
"category": "legal_disclaimer",
"text": "This content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). If you distribute this content, or a modified version of it, you must provide attribution to Red Hat Inc. and provide a link to the original.",
"title": "Terms of Use"
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"name": "Red Hat Product Security",
"namespace": "https://www.redhat.com"
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"references": [
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"category": "self",
"summary": "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2004:304",
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2004:304"
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"summary": "Canonical URL",
"url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/advisories/2004/rhsa-2004_304.json"
}
],
"title": "Red Hat Security Advisory: pam security update",
"tracking": {
"current_release_date": "2025-11-21T17:27:28+00:00",
"generator": {
"date": "2025-11-21T17:27:28+00:00",
"engine": {
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"id": "RHSA-2004:304",
"initial_release_date": "2004-08-18T15:12:00+00:00",
"revision_history": [
{
"date": "2004-08-18T15:12:00+00:00",
"number": "1",
"summary": "Initial version"
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{
"date": "2004-08-18T00:00:00+00:00",
"number": "2",
"summary": "Last updated version"
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{
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"name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS (Advanced Server) version 2.1 ",
"product": {
"name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS (Advanced Server) version 2.1 ",
"product_id": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS (Advanced Server) version 2.1 ",
"product_identification_helper": {
"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:2.1::as"
}
}
},
{
"category": "product_name",
"name": "Red Hat Linux Advanced Workstation 2.1",
"product": {
"name": "Red Hat Linux Advanced Workstation 2.1",
"product_id": "Red Hat Linux Advanced Workstation 2.1",
"product_identification_helper": {
"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:2.1::aw"
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}
},
{
"category": "product_name",
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"vulnerabilities": [
{
"cve": "CVE-2003-0388",
"ids": [
{
"system_name": "Red Hat Bugzilla ID",
"text": "1617025"
}
],
"notes": [
{
"category": "description",
"text": "pam_wheel in Linux-PAM 0.78, with the trust option enabled and the use_uid option disabled, allows local users to spoof log entries and gain privileges by causing getlogin() to return a spoofed user name.",
"title": "Vulnerability description"
},
{
"category": "summary",
"text": "security flaw",
"title": "Vulnerability summary"
}
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"Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES version 2.1",
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS version 2.1",
"Red Hat Linux Advanced Workstation 2.1"
]
},
"references": [
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"category": "self",
"summary": "Canonical URL",
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2003-0388"
},
{
"category": "external",
"summary": "RHBZ#1617025",
"url": "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1617025"
},
{
"category": "external",
"summary": "https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2003-0388",
"url": "https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2003-0388"
},
{
"category": "external",
"summary": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2003-0388",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2003-0388"
}
],
"release_date": "2003-06-16T00:00:00+00:00",
"remediations": [
{
"category": "vendor_fix",
"date": "2004-08-18T15:12:00+00:00",
"details": "Before applying this update, make sure that all previously-released\nerrata relevant to your system have been applied. Use Red Hat\nNetwork to download and update your packages. To launch the Red Hat\nUpdate Agent, use the following command:\n\n up2date\n\nFor information on how to install packages manually, refer to the\nfollowing Web page for the System Administration or Customization\nguide specific to your system:\n\n http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/",
"product_ids": [
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS (Advanced Server) version 2.1 ",
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES version 2.1",
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS version 2.1",
"Red Hat Linux Advanced Workstation 2.1"
],
"restart_required": {
"category": "none"
},
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2004:304"
}
],
"threats": [
{
"category": "impact",
"details": "Low"
}
],
"title": "security flaw"
}
]
}
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Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or seen somewhere by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability is confirmed from an analyst perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: This vulnerability was exploited and seen by the user reporting the sighting.
- Patched: This vulnerability was successfully patched by the user reporting the sighting.
- Not exploited: This vulnerability was not exploited or seen by the user reporting the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expresses doubt about the veracity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: This vulnerability was not successfully patched by the user reporting the sighting.
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