CVE-2004-2697

IBM AIX - Privilege Escalation via Symlink Attack on Inventory Scout Daemon Log File

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 1 public exploit for CVE-2004-2697. PoCs published by watercloud.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This exploit leverages a temporary file handling vulnerability in AIX invscoutd to overwrite arbitrary files (e.g., /.rhosts) and gain root access via rsh. It manipulates the log file path to create a symlink attack, leading to privilege escalation.

Description

The Inventory Scout daemon (invscoutd) 1.3.0.0 and 2.0.2 for AIX 4.3.3 and 5.1 allows local users to gain privileges via a symlink attack on a command line argument (log file). NOTE: this might be related to CVE-2006-5002.

Exploits (1)

exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by watercloud · perllocalaix
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/23883

This exploit leverages a temporary file handling vulnerability in AIX invscoutd to overwrite arbitrary files (e.g., /.rhosts) and gain root access via rsh. It manipulates the log file path to create a symlink attack, leading to privilege escalation.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: AIX invscoutd (AIX 4.x, 5L)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Local access to the AIX system · invscoutd service running
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

References (6)

Core 6
Core References
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_xf
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/15620
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_osvdb
http://www.osvdb.org/4582
Vendor Advisory third-party-advisory x_refsource_secunia
http://secunia.com/advisories/11200
Exploit vdb-entry x_refsource_bid
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/9982
Various Sources x_refsource_misc
http://www.xfocus.org/exploits/200403/31.html
Various Sources x_refsource_misc
http://www.securiteam.com/exploits/5CP0F0UDFG.html

Scores

EPSS 0.0059
EPSS Percentile 43.6%

Details

CWE
CWE-362
Status published
Products (3)
ibm/aix 4.3.3
ibm/aix 5.1
ibm/aix 5.1l
Published Dec 31, 2004
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026