# CVE-2003-0138: Auth bypass in n/a

> Attackers can impersonate any principal in a Kerberos realm via a chosen-plaintext attack, leading to unauthorized access and privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 21 Mar 2003
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** CVE-2003-0157, DEBIAN-CVE-2003-0138, DSA-269, GHSA-qxpj-m267-3648

## What is CVE-2003-0138?

CVE-2003-0138 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in n/a, published on 21 Mar 2003. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Version 4 of the Kerberos protocol (krb4), as used in Heimdal and other packages, allows an attacker to impersonate any principal in a realm via a chosen-plaintext attack.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2003-0138?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Mit Kerberos.

## How do I fix CVE-2003-0138?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2003-0138 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2003-0138 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2009-4212](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4212/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2004-0523](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0523/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2010-0283](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-0283/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2018-5709](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-5709/): Integer overflow in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2003-0139](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0139/): Auth bypass in n/a (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2003-0138 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2003-0138 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in n/a, published on 21 Mar 2003. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2003-0138 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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-2003-0138/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0138/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2003-0138
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2003-0138
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2003-0138

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0138/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.