What is CVE-2004-1901?A medium-severity flaw in Portage, explained.
CVE-2004-1901 is a medium-severity flaw (CVSS 5.5) in Portage from Gentoo, published on 31 December 2004. It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts its chance of use in the next 30 days at 0.4%. If you run an affected version, plan in the vendor’s fix.
Published 31 December 2004. Record last updated 16 June 2026. We keep this page's data up to date.
What is CVE-2004-1901? In plain terms.
An attacker has to be already on the device with an ordinary user account, and nobody has to click anything. If it works, the attacker can change data.
Portage before 2.0.50-r3 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a hard link attack on the lockfiles.
What kind of flaw is it?
- CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
How an attack on it works
Read straight from its severity rating, translated out of the shorthand.
- Where an attacker can beAlready on the device
- How hard it is to pull offEasy: no special conditions
- Login needed firstAn ordinary user account
- Does someone have to clickNo, nobody has to do anything
- What an attacker getsCan change data
Severity vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Is CVE-2004-1901 being exploited? Not that we know of.
It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts the chance of it being used in the next 30 days at 0.4%. That can change at any time, which is why we keep watching.
Timeline
- Published
- Record last updated
CVE-2004-1901 scores 18. Action: Track.
We keep the score of every published flaw up to date as the evidence changes. Four things go into the score, and evidence that criminals are actually using it counts most. In order:
- Evidence it is being exploitedBiggest factor
- How severe it isStrong factor
- How widely exposed it isKey context
- Real threat activity around itKey context
85 and above is Critical. Anything confirmed as exploited is always marked for an emergency patch, whatever its score.
When CVE-2004-1901 matches software you track, it lands in your list with its score and the reasons behind it.
See your own ranked list →Who is affected by CVE-2004-1901? 2 products.
The published record lists 2 products from 1 vendor. Versions are shown as published: "before 2.0.50" means every version up to, but not including, 2.0.50. If you run one of these, check your version, then go to the fix below.
How do I fix CVE-2004-1901? Four steps.
- Check whether you run itCompare your versions with the affected products above. Not sure what you run? Precursor Intelligence can work it out from your public website, or you can pick it from a list.
- Apply the vendor’s fixInstall the update named in the vendor’s advisory. We’ve put the advisories and patch notes first in the list.
- If you can’t patch todayFollow any mitigation the vendor publishes, and limit who can reach the affected system from the internet until the update is in.
- Keep an eye on itTrack the product and we tell you as soon as we spot this flaw on the list of exploited flaws, or a jump in its exploit likelihood.
Does CVE-2004-1901 affect you? We'll keep checking.
Looking flaws up one at a time doesn't scale. Tell us what you run once, and we tell you which flaws matter to you, in what order, and keep watching for new ones.
- Tell us what you runPick your software from a list, or let us work it out from your website.
- We match it to every flawOver 400,000 published flaws, checked against your list.
- Ranked by real-world riskA 0 to 100 score, led by evidence criminals are using it.
- Told as soon as we knowAn alert by email, in the app or by webhook to your own tools.
Free plan, no card needed. Nothing to install.
1 new flaw affects software Acme tracks
Portage before 2.0.50-r3 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a hard link attack on the lockfiles.
- Matched to
- Portage on Acme's software list
- What to do
- Plan in the vendor’s update
Sent to the alert recipients Acme chose. Also in the app and to Acme's webhook.
CVE-2004-1901 is a medium-severity flaw in Portage from Gentoo, published on 31 December 2004. An attacker has to be already on the device with an ordinary user account, and nobody has to click anything. If it works, the attacker can change data.
It scores 5.5 out of 10 on the CVSS severity scale, which is medium. Our risk score for CVE-2004-1901 is 18 out of 100, which is Info. Its action is "Track". No sign of exploitation and a low forecast. Patch it in your normal update cycle.
It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts the chance of it being used in the next 30 days at 0.4%. That can change at any time, which is why we keep watching.
For Portage from Gentoo: before 2.0.50, 2.0.50. The record lists 2 products in all, each with its versions, under "Who is affected" on this page.
Install the update the vendor names in its advisory, linked first under "How do I fix" on this page. If you can't patch today, follow the vendor's mitigation and limit who can reach the affected system from the internet.