CVE-2003-0961

HIGHCVSS v2 · 7.27.2—
EchelonGraph scoreLOW confidence

This CVE was only ever scored under CVSS v2.0. NVD CVSS v2.0 base 7.2 — v2 rates that HIGH (v2 bands: LOW 0.0–3.9 / MEDIUM 4.0–6.9 / HIGH 7.0–10.0; v2 has no CRITICAL band). Vector AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C. CVSS v2 is an older, coarser metric than v3.1/v4.0 (no Scope, no User Interaction, no Attack Requirements), so it is not directly comparable to a v3 or v4 score. NVD has never re-scored this record under v3. EPSS predicts 3.3% exploitation probability in the next 30 days, which is reflected in EG Risk but does not lift the v2 base. Confidence: LOW.

Sources: epss, nvd_v2
Weaponized
7.2EG
EchelonGraph verdictPatch this weekExploitation is likely or a public exploit exists.
  • Public exploit code is available (Exploit-DB (verified), public exploit)
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 3%CVSS v2: 7.2Exploit: Exploit-DB (verified) · public exploitExposed: 0

A fix is available — apply it.

Integer overflow in the do_brk function for the brk system call in Linux kernel 2.4.22 and earlier allows local users to gain root privileges.

CVSS v2.0 (legacy)
7.2HIGHNVD never assigned a CVSS v3 rating to this CVE
EG Score
7.2(low)
EG Risk
63(Track)
EG Risk 63/100SSVC: Track

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity72% × 45%
Exploitation65% × 40%
Automatability30% × 15%
Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence.
EPSS PROB
3%
EPSS %ILE
88%
KEV
Not listed

Published

December 15, 2003

Last Modified

June 16, 2026

References (50)

Patch Availability(4)

Vendor / EcosystemFixed in / PatchReleasedSource
redhatpatch2003-12-19redhat
redhatpatch2003-12-02redhat
redhatpatch2003-12-02redhat
redhatpatch2003-12-01redhat

Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.

Affected Packages

(18 across 1 ecosystem)
Debian:3.0(18)
PackageVulnerable rangeFixed inDependents
kernel-image-2.4.16-lart—2.4.16-20040204—
kernel-image-2.4.16-netwinder—2.4.16-20040204—
kernel-image-2.4.16-riscpc—2.4.16-20040204—
kernel-image-2.4.17-hppa—32.3—
kernel-image-2.4.17-ia64—kernel-image-2.4.17-ia64—
kernel-image-2.4.17-s390—2.4.17-2.woody.3—
kernel-image-2.4.18-1-alpha—2.4.18-12—
kernel-image-2.4.18-1-i386—2.4.18-12—
kernel-image-2.4.18-hppa—62.1—
kernel-patch-2.4.16-arm—20040204—
kernel-patch-2.4.17-apus—2.4.17-4—
kernel-patch-2.4.17-mips—2.4.17-0.020226.2.woody4—
kernel-patch-2.4.17-s390—0.0.20020816-0.woody.2—
kernel-patch-2.4.18-powerpc—2.4.18-1woody3—
kernel-patch-2.4.19-mips2.4.19-0.020911.1.woody4, 2.4.19-0.020911.1.woody52.4.19-4.woody1—
kernel-source-2.4.172.4.17-1woody3, 2.4.17-1woody42.4.17-4—
kernel-source-2.4.18—2.4.18-14—
kernel-source-2.4.19—2.4.19-0.020911.1.woody3—

All Vendor Advisories

(4)

Every vendor that published an advisory referencing this CVE — pulled from our cve_vendor_advisories aggregation. Click any row for the vendor's original advisory page.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 0× in last 7d / 3× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

  1. 2026-09-12 14:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-09-10 09:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-08-30 01:13 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-07-26 13:23 UTCEG score recompute▲ 7.20
  5. 2026-07-25 14:11 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-07-24 14:11 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-07-23 00:45 UTCEG score recompute
  8. 2026-07-23 00:26 UTCEG score recompute
  9. 2026-07-22 23:49 UTCEG score recompute
  10. 2026-07-22 21:30 UTCEG score recompute
  11. 2026-07-20 17:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-07-19 14:25 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-07-18 09:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-07-18 09:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-07-16 16:58 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-07-15 01:55 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-07-15 01:55 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-07-13 06:07 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-07-11 08:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-07-11 08:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-07-08 15:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-07-06 02:19 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-07-04 06:26 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-07-02 14:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-06-29 14:02 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 59 more
  1. 2026-06-29 14:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-06-28 14:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-06-28 04:52 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-06-27 03:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-06-23 21:29 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-06-22 14:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-06-21 14:52 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-06-21 01:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-06-19 19:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-06-19 19:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-06-18 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-06-18 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-06-17 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-06-17 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-06-16 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-06-16 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-06-15 17:43 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-06-14 23:13 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-06-14 23:13 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-06-13 22:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-06-12 23:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-06-11 13:55 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-06-10 22:13 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-06-10 13:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-06-08 14:13 UTCEPSS rescore
  26. 2026-06-07 15:21 UTCEPSS rescore
  27. 2026-06-06 13:44 UTCEPSS rescore
  28. 2026-06-06 13:44 UTCEPSS rescore
  29. 2026-06-06 13:44 UTCEPSS rescore
  30. 2026-06-05 22:43 UTCEPSS rescore
  31. 2026-06-05 22:43 UTCEPSS rescore
  32. 2026-06-05 06:07 UTCEPSS rescore
  33. 2026-06-04 13:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  34. 2026-06-02 20:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  35. 2026-06-01 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  36. 2026-06-01 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  37. 2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  38. 2026-05-31 17:04 UTCEG score recompute
  39. 2026-05-31 17:04 UTCVendor advisory
  40. 2026-05-31 17:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  41. 2026-05-31 00:13 UTCEPSS rescore
  42. 2026-05-31 00:13 UTCEPSS rescore
  43. 2026-05-29 13:40 UTCEPSS rescore
  44. 2026-05-29 13:40 UTCEPSS rescore
  45. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  46. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  47. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  48. 2026-05-27 13:37 UTCEPSS rescore
  49. 2026-05-26 13:41 UTCEPSS rescore
  50. 2026-05-26 13:41 UTCEPSS rescore
  51. 2026-05-26 07:16 UTCEPSS rescore
  52. 2026-05-26 07:16 UTCEPSS rescore
  53. 2026-05-24 16:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  54. 2026-05-22 21:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  55. 2026-05-20 22:36 UTCEPSS rescore
  56. 2026-05-20 11:20 UTCEPSS rescore
  57. 2026-05-20 11:20 UTCEPSS rescore
  58. 2026-05-18 21:29 UTCEPSS rescore
  59. 2026-05-18 21:29 UTCEPSS rescore

Publicly available exploits

(2 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (2 Exploit-DB entries). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • Exploit-DBEDB-131✓ verified
    First seen Dec 5, 2003

    Linux Kernel 2.4.22 - 'do_brk()' Local Privilege Escalation (2)

    Open source ↗
  • Exploit-DBEDB-129✓ verified
    First seen Dec 2, 2003

    Linux Kernel 2.4.22 - 'do_brk()' Local Privilege Escalation (1)

    Open source ↗

Related CVEs(same product + same vendor)

Same vendor

1 shown

redhat:RHSA-2003:368

Frequently asked(4)

What is CVE-2003-0961?
CVE-2003-0961 is a high vulnerability published on December 15, 2003. Integer overflow in the do_brk function for the brk system call in Linux kernel 2.4.22 and earlier allows local users to gain root privileges.
When was CVE-2003-0961 disclosed?
CVE-2003-0961 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on December 15, 2003, with the most recent update on June 16, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2003-0961 actively exploited?
CVE-2003-0961 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 3% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the top 11.9% of all scored CVEs.
How do I remediate CVE-2003-0961?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2003-0961, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2003-0961

Explore →

Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2003-0961?

EchelonGraph automatically scans your cloud infrastructure and maps CVE exposure using blast radius analysis.

Book a Demo →Browse All CVEs