CVE-2001-0559

Vixie cron <3.0.1 - Privilege Escalation

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 2 public exploits for CVE-2001-0559. PoCs published by cairnsc, Sebastian Krahmer.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This exploit leverages a privilege-dropping failure in Vixie cron's crontab utility (CVE-2001-0559) to gain root privileges. It compiles a setuid shell wrapper and manipulates the editor invocation to escalate privileges.

Description

crontab in Vixie cron 3.0.1 and earlier does not properly drop privileges after the failed parsing of a modification operation, which could allow a local attacker to gain additional privileges when an editor is called to correct the error.

Exploits (2)

exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by cairnsc · bashlocallinux
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/20823

This exploit leverages a privilege-dropping failure in Vixie cron's crontab utility (CVE-2001-0559) to gain root privileges. It compiles a setuid shell wrapper and manipulates the editor invocation to escalate privileges.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Vixie cron 3.0pl1-57.2 (Debian Linux 2.2)
Auth required
Prerequisites: local access · crontab executable at /usr/bin/crontab · compiler (cc) available
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by Sebastian Krahmer · bashlocallinux
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/20822

This exploit targets a privilege escalation vulnerability in Vixie cron (CVE-2001-0559) where crontab fails to drop privileges correctly after a parsing error. It compiles a helper binary to spawn a root shell if the exploit succeeds.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Vixie cron (v43)
Auth required
Prerequisites: Local access to the system · Vixie cron version 43 with setuid bit set
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

References (6)

Core 6
Core References
Patch, Vendor Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_mandrake
http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/security/2001/MDKSA-2001-050.php3
Vendor Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_suse
http://www.novell.com/linux/security/advisories/2001_017_cron_txt.html
Exploit, Patch, Vendor Advisory mailing-list x_refsource_bugtraq
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/183029
Vendor Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_debian
http://www.debian.org/security/2001/dsa-054
Exploit, Patch, Vendor Advisory vdb-entry x_refsource_bid
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/2687
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_xf
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/6508

Scores

EPSS 0.0110
EPSS Percentile 61.3%

Details

Status published
Products (1)
paul_vixie/vixie_cron < 3.0.1
Published Aug 14, 2001
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026