# CVE-2003-0898: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can exploit symlink vulnerabilities in db2job utilities to overwrite arbitrary files and escalate privileges.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.6 (`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P`)
- **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:** 28 Oct 2003
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8r84-3jfq-g684

## What is CVE-2003-0898?

CVE-2003-0898 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Ibm Db2 Universal Database, published on 28 Oct 2003. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

IBM DB2 7.2 before FixPak 10a, and earlier versions including 7.1, allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files and gain privileges via a symlink attack on (1) db2job and (2) db2job2.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2003-0898?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ibm Db2 Universal Database.

## How do I fix CVE-2003-0898?

No fix has been published for CVE-2003-0898 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2003-0898 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2003-0898 exists.

Public exploit code:

- IBM DB2 db2job - File Overwrite (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Ibm Db2 Universal Database

- [CVE-2007-6045](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-6045/): Unspecified vulnerability in (1) DB2WATCH and (2) DB2FREEZE in IBM DB2 UDB 9.1 before Fixpak 4 has unknown impact and attack vectors. (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2007-6047](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-6047/): Command injection in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2007-6048](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-6048/): Misconfiguration in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2007-6051](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-6051/): IBM DB2 UDB 9.1 before Fixpak 4 assigns incorrect privileges to the (1) DB2ADMNS and (2) DB2USERS alternative groups, which has unknown impact. (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2005-4865](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-4865/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2003-0898 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2003-0898 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Ibm Db2 Universal Database, published on 28 Oct 2003. 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-2003-0898 exists.

Affected product: Ibm Db2 Universal Database. 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-2003-0898/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0898/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2003-0898
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2003-0898
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2003-0898

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0898/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.