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CVE Record

CVE-2001-0559: crontab in Vixie cron 3.0.1 and earlier does not properly drop privileges after the failed parsing of a mod...

crontab in Vixie cron 3.0.1 and earlier does not properly drop privileges after the failed parsing of a modification operation, which could allow a local attacker to gain additional privileges when an editor is called to correct the error.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's Takemoderate

Analyst readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This is a local privilege-escalation issue in old Vixie cron. If a user can run crontab and trigger the failed parsing correction path, the editor may be called without properly dropped privileges, potentially giving that user more access. Exposure should be limited to legacy systems still running Vixie cron 3.0.1 or earlier.

Executive priority

Treat this as a legacy hygiene and privilege-escalation issue, not an internet-scale emergency. Prioritize hosts where untrusted users have shell access, shared admin systems, and unsupported servers that still run old cron packages.

Technical view

crontab in Vixie cron 3.0.1 and earlier mishandles privilege dropping after failed parsing of a modification operation. The risky path is the editor invocation used to correct the parse error. The source bundle does not provide CVSS, CWE, package-level fixed versions, or current distribution status.

Likely exposure

Most exposure is likely on very old Unix/Linux installations, embedded systems, appliances, or inherited images that still include Vixie cron 3.0.1 or earlier. Modern distributions may have replaced or patched cron, but this must be verified per asset.

Exploitation context

The bundle describes a local attacker gaining additional privileges. It does not cite remote exploitation, public exploit reliability, or active exploitation. KEV is false, so active exploitation should not be assumed from these sources.

Researcher notes

Evidence is sparse and old. The key condition is failed crontab modification parsing followed by editor invocation before privileges are properly dropped. Avoid assuming affected downstream packages without checking vendor advisories or package provenance.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory systems using Vixie cron and record exact cron package versions.
  • Replace or upgrade Vixie cron 3.0.1 and earlier using vendor guidance.
  • Review the listed Mandrake, SUSE, and Debian advisories for package-specific fixes.
  • Restrict local shell access on affected legacy hosts until remediated.
  • Prioritize retirement of unsupported operating systems carrying old cron packages.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm whether the host runs Vixie cron 3.0.1 or earlier.
  • Check vendor package changelogs or advisories for CVE-2001-0559 coverage.
  • Verify crontab binaries came from a patched vendor package.
  • Review local user access on any host with a vulnerable cron package.
  • Document unsupported systems where fix evidence is unavailable.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
7

Public sources used

Based on public source material and reviewed before publication.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
7Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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