Description
The secure script in LogWatch before 2.6-2 allows attackers to prevent LogWatch from detecting malicious activity via certain strings in the secure file that are later used as part of a regular expression, which causes the parser to crash, aka "logwatch log processing regular expression DoS."
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 | logwatch | 5.0-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | logwatch | 5.0-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | logwatch | 5.0-1 | — |
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.
Exploit-DB 1
- Logwatch 2.6 Secure Script - Denial of Service EDB-25465 · dos · Apr 20, 2005 · verified
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.