# CVE-2005-2494: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can gain root access via a symlink attack on lock files in KDE's kcheckpass utility.

- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 6 Sep 2005
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DSA-815-1, GHSA-3p2f-43j8-jmf7, RHSA-2006:0582

## What is CVE-2005-2494?

CVE-2005-2494 is a high-severity vulnerability in Kde Kde, published on 6 Sep 2005. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

kcheckpass in KDE 3.2.0 up to 3.4.2 allows local users to gain root access via a symlink attack on lock files.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2005-2494?

It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `kdebase` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::as | All versions | 6:3.3.1-5.13 |
| `kdebase-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::as | All versions | 6:3.3.1-5.13 |
| `kdebase-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::as | All versions | 6:3.3.1-5.13 |
| `kdebase` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::desktop | All versions | 6:3.3.1-5.13 |
| `kdebase-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::desktop | All versions | 6:3.3.1-5.13 |
| `kdebase-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::desktop | All versions | 6:3.3.1-5.13 |
| `kdebase` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::es | All versions | 6:3.3.1-5.13 |
| `kdebase-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::es | All versions | 6:3.3.1-5.13 |
| `kdebase-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::es | All versions | 6:3.3.1-5.13 |
| `kdebase` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::ws | All versions | 6:3.3.1-5.13 |
| `kdebase-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::ws | All versions | 6:3.3.1-5.13 |
| `kdebase-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:4::ws | All versions | 6:3.3.1-5.13 |

Products: Kde Kde.

## How do I fix CVE-2005-2494?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2005-2494 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2005-2494 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Kde Kde

- [CVE-2005-0011](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-0011/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2003-0690](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0690/): Privilege escalation in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-1670](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-1670/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2012-4512](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-4512/): Memory corruption in Konqueror (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2006-0019](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-0019/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2005-2494 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2005-2494 is a high-severity vulnerability in Kde Kde, published on 6 Sep 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-2005-2494 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Kde Kde. 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-2005-2494/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-2494/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2005-2494
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2005-2494
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2005-2494

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-2494/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.