Description
Format string vulnerability in screen 3.9.5 and earlier allows local users to gain root privileges via format characters in the vbell_msg initialization variable.
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
- Juergen Weigert screen 3.9 - User Supplied Format String EDB-20191 · local · Sep 5, 2000 · verified
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
References
- screen-format-string(5188) vdb-entry
- MDKSA-2000:044 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2000:058 vendor-advisory
- 20000906 screen format string parsing security problem vendor-advisory
- 20000905 screen 3.9.5 root vulnerability mailing-list
- 1641 vdb-entry
- 20000906 Screen-3.7.6 local compromise mailing-list