CVE-2004-0074

xsok 1.02 - Local Privilege Escalation via Long LANG Environment Variable or -xsokdir Argument

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 2 public exploits for CVE-2004-0074. PoCs published by c0wboy, N2n-Hacker.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This exploit targets a buffer overflow in xsok 1.02 by overwriting the return address with a hardcoded stack address and executing shellcode to spawn a shell. The shellcode includes setregid(20,20) followed by execve(/bin/sh).

Description

Multiple buffer overflows in xsok 1.02 allows local users to gain privileges via (1) a long LANG environment variable, or (2) a long -xsokdir command line argument, a different vulnerability than CVE-2003-0949.

Exploits (2)

exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by c0wboy · clocallinux
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/140

This exploit targets a buffer overflow in xsok 1.02 by overwriting the return address with a hardcoded stack address and executing shellcode to spawn a shell. The shellcode includes setregid(20,20) followed by execve(/bin/sh).

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Racy
Target: xsok 1.02
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Local access to the target system · xsok binary installed at /usr/games/xsok · Stack address (0xbffffa3c) must be consistent
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by N2n-Hacker · clocallinux
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/23510

This exploit leverages a buffer overflow in xsok 1.02 via the LANG environment variable to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges (setgid games). It automatically calculates the return address and includes shellcode to spawn a shell with the effective UID/GID of the vulnerable binary.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: xsok 1.02
No auth needed
Prerequisites: xsok 1.02 installed with setgid games · ability to execute the exploit locally
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

References (6)

Core 6
Core References
Mailing List mailing-list x_refsource_bugtraq
http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=107332542918529&w=2
Exploit, Vendor Advisory vdb-entry x_refsource_bid
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/9352
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_xf
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/14910
Mailing List mailing-list x_refsource_bugtraq
http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=107307407027259&w=2
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_xf
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/14906
Exploit, Patch, Vendor Advisory vdb-entry x_refsource_bid
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/9341

Scores

EPSS 0.0099
EPSS Percentile 58.1%

Details

Status published
Products (1)
michael_bischoff/xsok 1.02
Published Feb 17, 2004
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026