Description
Double-free vulnerability in CVS 1.11.4 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service and possibly execute arbitrary code via a malformed Directory request, as demonstrated by bypassing write checks to execute Update-prog and Checkin-prog commands.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | cvs | 1.11.2-5.1 | — |
| Debian 13 | cvs | 1.11.2-5.1 | — |
| Debian 12 | cvs | 1.11.2-5.1 | — |
| Debian 3.0 | cvs | 1.11.1p1debian-8.1 | DSA-233 |
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
- CVS 1.11.x - Directory Request Double-Free Heap Corruption EDB-22187 · remote · Jan 20, 2003 · verified
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Advisories 1
- DSA-233 cvs - doubly freed memory Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
References
- RHSA-2003:012 vendor-advisory
- http://ccvs.cvshome.org/servlets/NewsItemView?newsID=51&JServSessionIdservlets=5of2iuhr14
- 20030124 Test program for CVS double-free. mailing-list
- MDKSA-2003:009 vendor-advisory
- FreeBSD-SA-03:01 vendor-advisory
- 6650 vdb-entry
- cvs-doublefree-memory-corruption(11108) vdb-entry
- 20030122 [security@slackware.com: [slackware-security] New CVS packages available] mailing-list
- RHSA-2003:013 vendor-advisory
- 20030202 Exploit for CVS double free() for Linux pserver mailing-list
- DSA-233 vendor-advisory
- VU#650937 third-party-advisory
- http://security.e-matters.de/advisories/012003.html
- CA-2003-02 third-party-advisory
- N-032 third-party-advisory government-resource
- 20030120 Advisory 01/2003: CVS remote vulnerability mailing-list