CVE Catalog

CVE-2002-1160

High
Published: Translated: NVD NIST

Summary

The default configuration of the pam_xauth module forwards MIT-Magic-Cookies to new X sessions, which could allow local users to gain root privileges by stealing the cookies from a temporary .xauth file, created with the original user's credentials after root uses su.

Risk Assessment

The organization may be exposed to unauthorized access to the root account by local users, potentially leading to serious security breaches.

Recommendation

It is recommended to change the configuration of the pam_xauth module to not forward MIT-Magic-Cookies to new X sessions or implement additional security measures to restrict local user access.

Related vulnerabilities

Original NVD description (English source)

The default configuration of the pam_xauth module forwards MIT-Magic-Cookies to new X sessions, which could allow local users to gain root privileges by stealing the cookies from a temporary .xauth file, which is created with the original user's credentials after root uses su.

Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS