# CVE-2002-2042: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can attach to privileged processes via ptrace to execute arbitrary code, requiring OS patching.

- **Severity:** High 7.2 (`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 14 Jul 2005
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-rp42-x9p6-fq58

## What is CVE-2002-2042?

CVE-2002-2042 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 14 Jul 2005. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

ptrace in the QNX realtime operating system (RTOS) 4.25 and 6.1.0 allows programs to attach to privileged processes, which could allow local users to execute arbitrary code by modifying running processes.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2002-2042?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Qnx Rtos.

## How do I fix CVE-2002-2042?

No fix has been published for CVE-2002-2042 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2002-2042 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2002-2042 exists.

Public exploit code:

- QNX 6.x - 'ptrace()' Arbitrary Process Modification (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2004-1390](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-1390/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2005-1528](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-1528/): Path traversal in n/a (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2006-0621](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-0621/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2006-0623](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-0623/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2002-2040](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-2040/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2002-2042 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2002-2042 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 14 Jul 2005. 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-2002-2042 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-2002-2042/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-2042/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2002-2042
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2002-2042
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2002-2042

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-2042/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.