# CVE-2002-0767: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can exploit a file descriptor leak in simpleinit to execute arbitrary programs with root privileges.

- **Severity:** High 7.2 (`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 26 Jul 2002
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-pf83-wcw2-74mp

## What is CVE-2002-0767?

CVE-2002-0767 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 26 Jul 2002. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

simpleinit on Linux systems does not close a read/write FIFO file descriptor before creating a child process, which allows the child process to cause simpleinit to execute arbitrary programs with root privileges.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2002-0767?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Richard Gooch Simpleinit.

## How do I fix CVE-2002-0767?

No fix has been published for CVE-2002-0767 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2002-0767 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2002-0767 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Richard Gooch SimpleInit 2.0.2 - Open File Descriptor (exploitdb)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2002-0767 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2002-0767 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 26 Jul 2002. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2002-0767 exists.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-0767/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-0767/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2002-0767
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2002-0767
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2002-0767

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-0767/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.