# CVE-2004-2394: Weak cryptography in n/a

> An off-by-one error in the passwd utility reduces password entropy when using the stdin option, facilitating brute-force attacks.

- **Severity:** Low 2.1 (`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 17 Aug 2005
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-39q2-89f2-vxj5

## What is CVE-2004-2394?

CVE-2004-2394 is a low-severity vulnerability in Mandrakesoft Mandrake Linux, published on 17 Aug 2005. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Off-by-one error in passwd 0.68 and earlier, when using the --stdin option, causes passwd to use the first 78 characters of a password instead of the first 79, which results in a small reduction of the search space required for brute force attacks.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2004-2394?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Mandrakesoft Mandrake Linux, Mandrakesoft Mandrake Linux Corporate Server, Mandrakesoft Mandrake Multi Network Firewall.

## How do I fix CVE-2004-2394?

No fix has been published for CVE-2004-2394 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2004-2394 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2004-2394 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Mandrakesoft Mandrake Linux

- [CVE-2004-1187](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-1187/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2004-1188](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-1188/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2003-0041](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0041/): Command injection in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2000-1042](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-1042/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2000-1043](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-1043/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2004-2394 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2004-2394 is a low-severity vulnerability in Mandrakesoft Mandrake Linux, published on 17 Aug 2005. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2004-2394 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Mandrakesoft Mandrake 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-2004-2394/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-2394/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2004-2394
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2004-2394
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2004-2394

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-2394/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.