Description
lppasswd in CUPS 1.1.22 does not remove the passwd.new file if it encounters a file-size resource limit while writing to passwd.new, which causes subsequent invocations of lppasswd to fail.
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 | cups | 1.1.22-2 | — |
| Debian 13 | cups | 1.1.22-2 | — |
| Debian 12 | cups | 1.1.22-2 | — |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 4 | cups +2 | 1:1.1.22-0.rc1.9.6 | RHSA-2005:053 |
| RHEL 3 | cups +2 | 1:1.1.17-13.3.22 | RHSA-2005:013 |
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
- Easy Software Products LPPassWd 1.1.22 - Resource Limit Denial of Service EDB-25012 · dos · Dec 11, 2004 · verified
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Advisories 2
- RHSA-2005:053 Red Hat Security Advisory: CUPS security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- RHSA-2005:013 Red Hat Security Advisory: cups security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
References
- RHSA-2005:013 vendor-advisory
- cups-lppasswd-dos(18608) vdb-entry
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:9545 vdb-entry signature
- MDKSA-2005:008 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2005:053 vendor-advisory
- USN-50-1 vendor-advisory
- GLSA-200412-25 vendor-advisory
- http://tigger.uic.edu/~jlongs2/holes/cups2.txt