# CVE-2003-1167: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can escalate privileges by manipulating the PATH variable to execute a malicious killall binary via KPopup.

- **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:** 10 May 2005
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-mp2f-xrhw-xjhw

## What is CVE-2003-1167?

CVE-2003-1167 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 10 May 2005. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

misc.cpp in KPopup 0.9.1 trusts the PATH variable when executing killall, which allows local users to elevate their privileges by modifying the PATH variable to reference a malicious killall program.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2003-1167?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Gernot Stocker Kpopup.

## How do I fix CVE-2003-1167?

No fix has been published for CVE-2003-1167 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2003-1167 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2003-1167 exists.

Public exploit code:

- kpopup 0.9.x - Privileged Command Execution (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2003-1170](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-1170/): Other in n/a (high 7.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2003-1167 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2003-1167 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 10 May 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-2003-1167 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-2003-1167/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-1167/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2003-1167
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2003-1167
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2003-1167

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-1167/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.