# CVE-2004-0594: Race condition in n/a

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary code via a race condition in PHP's memory limit handling when register_globals is enabled.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.1 (`AV:N/AC:H/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:** 16 Jul 2004
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-jm2p-9h9p-vg22

## What is CVE-2004-0594?

CVE-2004-0594 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 16 Jul 2004. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The memory_limit functionality in PHP 4.x up to 4.3.7, and 5.x up to 5.0.0RC3, under certain conditions such as when register_globals is enabled, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by triggering a memory_limit abort during execution of the zend_hash_init function and overwriting a HashTable destructor pointer before the initialization of key data structures is complete.

Weakness: CWE-367 (Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2004-0594?

It affects 6 products.


Products: Avaya Converged Communications Server, Debian Debian Linux, Hp Hp-Ux, Openpkg Openpkg, Php Php, Trustix Secure Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2004-0594?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2004-0594 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2004-0594 exists.

Public exploit code:

- PHP 4.3.7/5.0.0RC3 - 'memory_limit' Remote Overflow (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2004-0495](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0495/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2004-0595](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0595/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2004-1235](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-1235/): Race condition in n/a (medium 6.2)
- [CVE-2005-0003](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-0003/): Memory corruption in n/a (low 2.1)
- [CVE-2004-0554](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0554/): Denial of service in n/a (low 2.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2004-0594 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2004-0594 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 16 Jul 2004. 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-2004-0594 exists.

Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. 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-2004-0594/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0594/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2004-0594
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2004-0594
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2004-0594

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0594/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.