CVE-2003-1023

Stack-based buffer overflow in vfs_s_resolve_symlink of vfs/direntry.c for Midnight Commander (mc) 4.6.0 and earlier, and possibly later versions, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code during symlink conversion.

Published: 2004-01-20 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2003-1023 is rated Moderate Risk (58.8/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 5.14%, 91th percentile). Core evidence: EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. Mandatory action: High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2003-1023

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 8.28% 5.14% -3.14%
2 2025-03-30 9.42% 8.28% -1.14%
3 2025-03-29 9.42%

Full EPSS history (8 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2003-1023

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.5 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
10.0 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2003-1023

OS Trackers for CVE-2003-1023

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2003-1023 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (mc), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2003-1023
redhat high https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2003-1023

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2003-1023

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
midnight_commander midnight_commander 4.5.52 cpe:2.3:a:midnight_commander:midnight_commander:4.5.52:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
midnight_commander midnight_commander 4.5.55 cpe:2.3:a:midnight_commander:midnight_commander:4.5.55:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
midnight_commander midnight_commander 4.6 cpe:2.3:a:midnight_commander:midnight_commander:4.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2003-1023

URL Tags
ftp://ftp.caldera.com/pub/security/OpenLinux/CSSA-2004-014.0.txt
ftp://patches.sgi.com/support/free/security/advisories/20040201-01-U.asc
ftp://patches.sgi.com/support/free/security/advisories/20040202-01-U.asc
http://archive.cert.uni-stuttgart.de/bugtraq/2003/09/msg00309.html
http://distro.conectiva.com.br/atualizacoes/?id=a&anuncio=000833
http://fedoranews.org/updates/FEDORA-2004-058.shtml
http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=108118433222764&w=2
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2004-034.html
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2004-035.html
http://secunia.com/advisories/10645
http://secunia.com/advisories/10685
http://secunia.com/advisories/10716
http://secunia.com/advisories/10772
http://secunia.com/advisories/10823
http://secunia.com/advisories/11219
http://secunia.com/advisories/11262
http://secunia.com/advisories/11268
http://secunia.com/advisories/11296
http://secunia.com/advisories/9833
http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200403-09.xml Vendor Advisory
http://www.debian.org/security/2004/dsa-424
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDKSA-2004:007
http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-legacy-announce/2004-May/msg00002.html
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/8658 Vendor Advisory
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/13247
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A822
cvelogic Threat Intelligence