{"id":"CVE-2002-0638","url":"https://www.cyber-defence.io/tools/cve/CVE-2002-0638","generatedAt":"2026-10-27T21:40:43.747Z","title":"setpwnam.c in the util-linux package, as included in Red Hat Linux 7.3 and earlier, and other operating systems, does not properly lock a temporary file when modifying /etc/passwd, which may allow local users to gain privileges via a complex race…","description":"setpwnam.c in the util-linux package, as included in Red Hat Linux 7.3 and earlier, and other operating systems, does not properly lock a temporary file when modifying /etc/passwd, which may allow local users to gain privileges via a complex race condition that uses an open file descriptor in utility programs such as chfn and chsh.","published":"2002-08-12T04:00:00.000Z","lastModified":"2026-06-16T21:57:50.000Z","status":"Modified","sourceIdentifier":"cve@mitre.org","cvss":{"version":"2.0","score":6.2,"severity":"MEDIUM","vector":"AV:L/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C"},"cwe":[],"affected":["mandrakesoft/mandrake single network firewall","hp/secure os","mandrakesoft/mandrake linux","mandrakesoft/mandrake linux corporate server","redhat/linux"],"epss":{"score":0.00529,"percentile":0.4448,"date":"2026-10-26","history":[]},"kev":{"listed":false},"exploits":{"count":0,"verified":false,"firstPublished":null,"source":"Exploit-DB (https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb)","entries":[]},"verdict":{"level":"low","text":"Lower severity and a low EPSS score (0.53%). Track it; it rarely justifies an emergency change on its own."},"changes":[],"references":[{"url":"ftp://ftp.caldera.com/pub/security/OpenLinux/CSSA-2002-043.0.txt","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/bugtraq/2002-07/0357.html","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/bugtraq/2002-07/0396.html","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://distro.conectiva.com.br/atualizacoes/?id=a&anuncio=000523","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=102795787713996&w=2","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://online.securityfocus.com/advisories/4320","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2002-132.html","tags":["Patch","Vendor Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://www.iss.net/security_center/static/9709.php","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/405955","tags":["Patch","Third Party Advisory","US Government Resource"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/security/2002/MDKSA-2002-047.php","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://www.osvdb.org/5164","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2002-137.html","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/5344","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"ftp://ftp.caldera.com/pub/security/OpenLinux/CSSA-2002-043.0.txt","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/bugtraq/2002-07/0357.html","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/bugtraq/2002-07/0396.html","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://distro.conectiva.com.br/atualizacoes/?id=a&anuncio=000523","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=102795787713996&w=2","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://online.securityfocus.com/advisories/4320","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2002-132.html","tags":["Patch","Vendor Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.iss.net/security_center/static/9709.php","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/405955","tags":["Patch","Third Party Advisory","US Government Resource"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/security/2002/MDKSA-2002-047.php","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.osvdb.org/5164","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2002-137.html","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/5344","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"}],"sources":{"nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2002-0638","epss":"https://www.first.org/epss/","kev":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","exploitdb":"https://www.exploit-db.com/"},"licence":"CC BY 4.0 — link back to the CVE Explorer if you publish the results; upstream data remains subject to its own terms."}