CVE-2003-0854: ls in the fileutils or coreutils packages allows local users to consume a large amount of memory via a larg...

Security readout for executives and security teams

This is an old denial-of-service issue in ls from fileutils/coreutils. A user can force excessive memory use with an oversized width value. The bundle says remote impact may occur when another application exposes ls behavior, such as wu-ftpd. It does not provide CVSS, exact affected versions, or evidence of current active exploitation. Exposure is most likely on legacy Unix/Linux systems still running old fileutils or coreutils packages, especially systems with FTP or similar services that call ls for remote users. Modern maintained distributions are unlikely to be exposed, but the bundle does not prove that for any specific product or version. Prioritize only if legacy Linux or Unix systems, old FTP services, or embedded appliances remain in service. For maintained platforms, urgency is lower, but unsupported internet-facing systems should be reviewed because the impact can be remote service disruption. Mitigation focus: Check relevant vendor advisories for fixed fileutils or coreutils packages.; Update legacy systems using distribution-supported security packages.; Retire or isolate obsolete FTP services that expose directory listing behavior..

Prepared

Jun 30, 2026, 08:14 UTC (UTC+00:00)

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.