ldd in the GNU C Library (aka glibc or libc6) 2.13 and earlier allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse executable file lin…

published 2011-03-30 15y ago modified 2026-06-16 4mo ago also EUVD-2009-5020

cvss: 6.9; version 2.0, NVD
cisa kev: Not listed; not in CISA's catalog
epss: 0.5%; EPSS 0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 44%
public exploits: 0; none known

ldd in the GNU C Library (aka glibc or libc6) 2.13 and earlier allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse executable file linked with a modified loader that omits certain LD_TRACE_LOADED_OBJECTS checks. NOTE: the GNU C Library vendor states "This is just nonsense. There are a gazillion other ways to introduce code if people are downloading arbitrary binaries and install them in appropriate directories or set LD_LIBRARY_PATH etc.

Patch / fix

distros 3 links 8

debian red hat opensuse

glibc Debian 14, Debian 13, Debian 12 2.10.1-7

debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2009-5064

glibc RHEL 5 2.5-65.el5_7.3
nscd RHEL 5 2.5-65.el5_7.3
glibc-utils RHEL 5 2.5-65.el5_7.3
glibc-common RHEL 5 2.5-65.el5_7.3
glibc-debuginfo-common RHEL 5 2.5-65.el5_7.3
glibc RHEL 4 2.3.4-2.57
nscd RHEL 4 2.3.4-2.57
glibc-utils RHEL 4 2.3.4-2.57

red hat advisories RHSA-2012:0126 RHSA-2012:0125 RHSA-2011:1526

glibc openSUSE Tumbleweed 2.34-1.2

opensuse advisories openSUSE-SU-2024:10792-1

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Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2009-5064 updated 2025-11-21 cvss 3.7

glibc: ldd unexpected code execution issue

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (v. 5 server) nscd 2.5-65.el5_7.3, glibc 2.5-65.el5_7.3, glibc-utils 2.5-65.el5_7.3, glibc-common 2.5-65.el5_7.3, glibc-debuginfo-common 2.5-65.el5_7.3
fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2012:0126
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS version 4 nscd 2.3.4-2.57, glibc 2.3.4-2.57, glibc-utils 2.3.4-2.57, glibc-common 2.3.4-2.57, glibc-profile 2.3.4-2.57, glibc-debuginfo-common 2.3.4-2.57
fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2012:0125
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 5 client) nscd 2.5-65.el5_7.3, glibc 2.5-65.el5_7.3, glibc-utils 2.5-65.el5_7.3, glibc-common 2.5-65.el5_7.3, glibc-debuginfo-common 2.5-65.el5_7.3
fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2012:0126
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 6) nscd 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-utils 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-common 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-debuginfo-common 2.12-1.47.el6 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop Optional (v. 6) nscd 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-utils 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-common 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-debuginfo-common 2.12-1.47.el6
fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2011:1526
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop version 4 nscd 2.3.4-2.57, glibc 2.3.4-2.57, glibc-utils 2.3.4-2.57, glibc-common 2.3.4-2.57, glibc-profile 2.3.4-2.57, glibc-debuginfo-common 2.3.4-2.57 Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES version 4 nscd 2.3.4-2.57, glibc 2.3.4-2.57, glibc-utils 2.3.4-2.57, glibc-common 2.3.4-2.57, glibc-profile 2.3.4-2.57, glibc-debuginfo-common 2.3.4-2.57
fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2012:0125
Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node (v. 6) nscd 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-utils 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-common 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-debuginfo-common 2.12-1.47.el6 Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node Optional (v. 6) nscd 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-utils 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-common 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-debuginfo-common 2.12-1.47.el6 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 6) nscd 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-utils 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-common 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-debuginfo-common 2.12-1.47.el6 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 6) nscd 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-utils 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-common 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-debuginfo-common 2.12-1.47.el6 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 6) nscd 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-utils 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-common 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-debuginfo-common 2.12-1.47.el6 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation Optional (v. 6) nscd 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-utils 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-common 2.12-1.47.el6, glibc-debuginfo-common 2.12-1.47.el6
fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2011:1526
Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS version 4 nscd 2.3.4-2.57, glibc 2.3.4-2.57, glibc-utils 2.3.4-2.57, glibc-common 2.3.4-2.57, glibc-profile 2.3.4-2.57, glibc-debuginfo-common 2.3.4-2.57
fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2012:0125

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

Exploit prediction

0.52% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 44% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).

Exploits and checks

openwall.com http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/03/08/10 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
bugzilla.redhat.com https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=682998 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
openwall.com http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/03/08/7 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
openwall.com http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/03/08/3 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
openwall.com http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/03/08/2 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
openwall.com http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/03/07/13 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
openwall.com http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/03/08/1 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
bugzilla.redhat.com https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=531160 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
openwall.com http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/03/07/7 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
reverse.lostrealm.com http://reverse.lostrealm.com/protect/ldd.html referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
openwall.com http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/03/07/10 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
catonmat.net http://www.catonmat.net/blog/ldd-arbitrary-code-execution/ referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
NVD	2.0	6.9	AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Classification

Weakness

CWE-264 Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls

References

openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/08/10
mailing-list, exploit, patch
bugzilla.redhat.com /show_bug.cgi?id=682998
exploit, patch
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/08/7
mailing-list, exploit, patch
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/08/3
mailing-list, exploit, patch
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/08/2
mailing-list, exploit, patch
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/07/13
mailing-list, exploit, patch
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/08/1
mailing-list, exploit, patch
bugzilla.redhat.com /show_bug.cgi?id=531160
exploit, patch
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/07/7
mailing-list, exploit
reverse.lostrealm.com /protect/ldd.html
exploit
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/07/10
mailing-list, exploit
catonmat.net /blog/ldd-arbitrary-code-execution/
exploit
redhat.com /support/errata/RHSA-2011-1526.html
vendor-advisory

Sources

CVE List CVE-2009-5064
NVD CVE-2009-5064

Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.

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