CVE-2001-0979

HP-UX 11.0 - Buffer Overflow via Long Command Line Argument

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 2 public exploits for CVE-2001-0979. PoCs published by watercloud, foo.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This exploit targets a buffer overflow vulnerability in HP-UX 11.11/11.0's swinstall/swverify utilities to achieve local privilege escalation. It leverages an environment variable (LANG) to overflow a buffer and execute shellcode, spawning a root shell.

Description

Buffer overflow in swverify in HP-UX 11.0, and possibly other programs, allows local users to gain privileges via a long command line argument.

Exploits (2)

exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by watercloud · clocalhp-ux
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/482

This exploit targets a buffer overflow vulnerability in HP-UX 11.11/11.0's swinstall/swverify utilities to achieve local privilege escalation. It leverages an environment variable (LANG) to overflow a buffer and execute shellcode, spawning a root shell.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: HP-UX 11.11/11.0 swinstall/swverify
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Local access to HP-UX 11.11/11.0 system · Ability to execute binaries
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by foo · clocalhp-ux
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/21098

This exploit leverages a buffer overflow in HP-UX's swverify (setuid root) to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges. It constructs a malicious buffer with NOP sleds, shellcode, and a targeted return address to hijack execution flow.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: HP-UX swverify (default setuid root)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Local access to HP-UX system · swverify binary present and setuid root
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

References (3)

Core 3
Core References
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_xf
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/7078
Exploit mailing-list x_refsource_bugtraq
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/211687
Exploit, Patch, Vendor Advisory vdb-entry x_refsource_bid
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/3279

Scores

EPSS 0.0155
EPSS Percentile 71.9%

Details

Status published
Products (4)
hp/hp-ux 10.01
hp/hp-ux 10.10
hp/hp-ux 10.20
hp/hp-ux 11.00
Published Sep 03, 2001
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026