CVE-2005-2496: The xntpd ntp (ntpd) daemon before 4.2.0b, when run with the -u option and using a string to specify the gr...

Security readout for executives and security teams

This is an old ntpd privilege-handling flaw. On affected versions, a specific service startup option can make the daemon run with a different group privilege than the administrator intended. That matters most for legacy systems where ntpd is still present and configured to drop privileges using a named group. Exposure is most likely on legacy Unix/Linux hosts running xntpd or ntpd before 4.2.0b with -u configured using a string group name. Systems not using that startup pattern are less clearly affected based on the provided evidence. Treat this as a legacy hygiene issue unless critical systems still run old ntpd packages. It is not listed as KEV and no active exploitation is cited, but unintended daemon privileges can weaken containment on long-lived infrastructure. Mitigation focus: Inventory ntpd or xntpd versions on legacy systems.; Prioritize hosts running versions before 4.2.0b.; Review vendor advisories for supported fixed packages..

Prepared

Jun 29, 2026, 17:57 UTC (UTC+00:00)

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