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CVE-2002-0638

17
FAUCET Score

CVE-2002-0638 describes a race condition vulnerability in the setpwnam.c component of the util-linux package, affecting Red Hat Linux 7.3 and earlier, as well as other operating systems. This flaw allows local users to potentially gain privileges by exploiting improper temporary file locking during /etc/passwd modifications by utilities like chfn and chsh. With a CVSS score of 6.2, this vulnerability has a local attack vector and high attack complexity, but could lead to complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. There is no evidence of active exploitation, public exploit code (Metasploit, Nuclei, ExploitDB), or significant community discussion or media coverage surrounding this CVE.

Impacted Technologies

VendorProductVersion(s)CPE
7.2CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:mandrakesoft:mandrake_single_network_firewall:7.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
1.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:hp:secure_os:1.0:*:linux:*:*:*:*:*
7.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:mandrakesoft:mandrake_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
7.1CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:mandrakesoft:mandrake_linux:7.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
7.2CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:mandrakesoft:mandrake_linux:7.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

CVSS Data

CVSS version used by this source: 2.0

6.2MEDIUM

AV:L/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Confidentiality Impact
COMPLETE
Integrity Impact
COMPLETE
Availability Impact
COMPLETE
Access Vector
LOCAL
Access Complexity
HIGH
Authentication
NONE
Exploitability Score
1.9
Impact Score
10.0
CvssVersion
2.0

Exploit Intelligence

EPSS Score
0.53%
Probability of exploitation in next 30 days
EPSS Percentile
41.5%
Percentile rank of EPSS score among Peer Group
As of 2026-07-24
Model: v2026.06.15
This CVE's current EPSS score of 0.0053 is in the 79th percentile among its peer group of 1,595 CVEs.

Social Chatter

No social media mentions found for this CVE.

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.0 Twitter, 0.0 Reddit, 0.0 Bluesky, 0.0 Mastodon, and 0.1 GitHub mentions.

Media Mentions

No media coverage found for this CVE.

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.0 InfoSec Media, 0.0 Vendor Blog, and 0.0 Security Researcher mentions.

Remediation

Patch Available

Vendor Patches (6)

redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS (Advanced Server) version 2.1
View patch
redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Linux 6.2
View patch
redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Linux 7.0
View patch
redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Linux 7.1
View patch
redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Linux 7.2
View patch
redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Linux 7.3
View patch

Vendor Advisories (1)

redhatCVE-2002-0638Moderate

security flaw

Jul 29, 2002

References

ftp.caldera.com / pub/security/OpenLinux/CSSA-2002-043.0.txt
archives.neohapsis.com / archives/bugtraq/2002-07/0357.html
archives.neohapsis.com / archives/bugtraq/2002-07/0396.html
distro.conectiva.com.br / atualizacoes
marc.info
online.securityfocus.com / advisories/4320
rhn.redhat.com / errata/RHSA-2002-132.html
PatchVendor Advisory
iss.net / security_center/static/9709.php
kb.cert.org / vuls/id/405955
PatchThird Party AdvisoryUS Government Resource
linux-mandrake.com / en/security/2002/MDKSA-2002-047.php
osvdb.org / 5164
redhat.com / support/errata/RHSA-2002-137.html
securityfocus.com / bid/5344