Description
The tmpwatch utility in Red Hat Linux forks a new process for each directory level, which allows local users to cause a denial of service by creating deeply nested directories in /tmp or /var/tmp/.
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
Third-party code, not reviewed by us. Public PoCs are sometimes fake or contain malware. Read the code first and run it only in an isolated lab, against systems you are authorised to test.
Exploit-DB 1
- RedHat Linux 6.1 i386 - Tmpwatch Recursive Write Denial of Service EDB-20217 · dos · Sep 9, 2000 · verified
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
References
- linux-tmpwatch-fork-dos(5217) vdb-entry
- 20000909 tmpwatch: local DoS : fork()bomb as root mailing-list
- RHSA-2000:080 vendor-advisory
- 1664 vdb-entry