# CVE-2003-0139: Auth bypass in n/a

> Attackers can forge Kerberos tickets via cut-and-paste attacks when triple-DES keys are used, allowing unauthorized access to services.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 21 Mar 2003
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** CVE-2003-0158, DEBIAN-CVE-2003-0139, GHSA-h6r9-m8w5-h766

## What is CVE-2003-0139?

CVE-2003-0139 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in n/a, published on 21 Mar 2003. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Certain weaknesses in the implementation of version 4 of the Kerberos protocol (krb4) in the krb5 distribution, when triple-DES keys are used to key krb4 services, allow an attacker to create krb4 tickets for unauthorized principals using a cut-and-paste attack and "ticket splicing."

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2003-0139?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Mit Kerberos.

## How do I fix CVE-2003-0139?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2003-0139 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2003-0139 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-2003-0138](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0138/): Auth bypass in n/a (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2003-0139 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2003-0139 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in n/a, published on 21 Mar 2003. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2003-0139 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-2003-0139/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0139/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2003-0139
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2003-0139
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2003-0139

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0139/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.