CVE-2006-1078

Multiple buffer overflows in htpasswd, as used in Acme thttpd 2.25b, and possibly other products such as Apache, might allow local users to gain privileges via (1) a long command line argument and (2) a long line in a file. NOTE: since htpasswd is normally installed as a non-setuid program, and the exploit is through command line options, perhaps this issue should not be included in CVE. However, if there are some typical or recommended configurations that use htpasswd with sudo privileges, or common products that access htpasswd remotely, then perhaps it should be included.

Published: 2006-03-09 Last update: 2026-04-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2006-1078 is rated Moderate Risk (48.1/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.19%). Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule 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-2006-1078

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 2025-05-23 0.14% 0.19% +0.05%
2 2025-03-30 0.34% 0.14% -0.20%
3 2025-03-29 0.34%

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2006-1078

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.4 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.5 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
7.2 2.0 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
3.9 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2006-1078

OS Trackers for CVE-2006-1078

vendor priority summary link
alpine CVE-2006-1078: no source package rows; 0 state rows across 0 repos (none); fixed 0, open 0. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2006-1078

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2006-1078

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
acme_labs thttpd 2.25b cpe:2.3:a:acme_labs:thttpd:2.25b:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2006-1078

URL Tags
http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/fulldisclosure/2004-09/0547.html
http://issues.apache.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=31975
http://issues.apache.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=41279
http://lists.grok.org.uk/pipermail/full-disclosure/2007-January/051562.html
http://marc.info/?l=thttpd&m=114153031201867&w=2
http://marc.info/?l=thttpd&m=114154083000296&w=2
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/175949/m-privacy-TightGate-Pro-Code-Execution-Insecure-Permissions.html
http://seclists.org/bugtraq/2004/Oct/0359.html
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2023/Nov/13
http://www.security-express.com/archives/fulldisclosure/2004-10/1117.html
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/426823/100/0/threaded
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/16972
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/25216
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/31236
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