# CVE-2003-0190: Information disclosure in n/a

> Remote attackers can enumerate valid usernames via timing differences in OpenSSH when PAM is enabled, facilitating targeted attacks.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 2 May 2003
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2003-0190, GHSA-32j7-fc74-pjwq

## What is CVE-2003-0190?

CVE-2003-0190 is a medium-severity vulnerability in OpenSSH, published on 2 May 2003. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

OpenSSH-portable (OpenSSH) 3.6.1p1 and earlier with PAM support enabled immediately sends an error message when a user does not exist, which allows remote attackers to determine valid usernames via a timing attack.

Weakness: CWE-203 (Observable Discrepancy)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2003-0190?

It affects 4 products.


Products: OpenSSH, Openpkg Openpkg, Siemens Scalance X204rna Ecc Firmware, Siemens Scalance X204rna Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2003-0190?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2003-0190 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2003-0190 exists.

Public exploit code:

- OpenSSH/PAM 3.6.1p1 - Remote Users Discovery Tool (exploitdb)
- OpenSSH/PAM 3.6.1p1 - 'gossh.sh' Remote Users Ident (exploitdb)
- Portable OpenSSH 3.6.1p-PAM/4.1-SuSE - Timing Attack (exploitdb)
- SSH Username Enumeration (metasploit)

## Other vulnerabilities in OpenSSH

- [CVE-2003-0786](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0786/): Auth bypass in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2003-0693](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0693/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2002-0640](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-0640/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2001-0144](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2001-0144/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2000-0999](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0999/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2003-0190 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2003-0190 is a medium-severity vulnerability in OpenSSH, published on 2 May 2003. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2003-0190 exists.

Affected product: OpenSSH. 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-2003-0190/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0190/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2003-0190
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2003-0190
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2003-0190

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0190/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.