CVE-2005-2499: slocate before 2.7 does not properly process very long paths, which allows local users to cause a denial of...

Security readout for executives and security teams

This is an old local denial-of-service issue in slocate. A local user could create an unusually long directory path that causes updatedb to exit, leaving the slocate search database incomplete. The evidence does not indicate remote compromise, privilege escalation, data theft, or active exploitation. Exposure is most likely on legacy Unix/Linux systems still running slocate earlier than 2.7, especially systems with local untrusted users. Modern systems may use different locate implementations, but that is not established by the provided sources. Treat this as low urgency unless legacy multi-user Linux systems depend on slocate for operational workflows. It does not indicate remote access or system takeover in the provided evidence, but unsupported legacy packages should still be retired or updated. Mitigation focus: Identify systems with slocate installed and determine the installed version.; Upgrade slocate to 2.7 or a vendor-fixed package where applicable.; Review the linked Red Hat advisories for affected legacy distributions..

Prepared

Jun 29, 2026, 18:15 UTC (UTC+00:00)

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