CVE-2005-0666: Unknown vulnerability in PaX from the September 2003 release to 2.2 before 2005.03.05, related to SEGMEXEC or

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MEDIUM 4.6WATCHLISTDOWNGRADE

CVE-2005-0666 is a medium-severity flaw (CVSS 4.6) affecting pax linux. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.

Unknown vulnerability in PaX from the September 2003 release to 2.2 before 2005.03.05, related to SEGMEXEC or RANDEXEC and VMA mirroring, allows local users and possibly remote attackers to bypass intended access restrictions and execute arbitrary code.

Why this priority

Public exploit reference
On your watchlist

No fix is published yet: follow the downgrade or mitigation steps.

Risk facts

CVSS score	4.6 (Medium)
EPSS exploit chance	2.5% (top 15%)
CISA exploited list	No
Published	2005-05-02
Last modified	2026-06-16

Publisher (CNA): MITRE · Vendor: the pax team

Last updated 2026-06-16 · Sources: CVE Program, NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS and vendor advisories · How we score

Am I affected?

Timeline

2005-05-02 04:00 UTCPublished CVE record published
2026-06-16 22:11 UTCUpdated Record last modified

the pax team pax linux DOWNGRADE

Affected: 2.2 · 2.4.20 · 2.4.21 · 2.4.22 · 2.4.23 · 2.4.24 · 2.4.25 · 2.4.26

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 2.2

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy pax-linux || rpm -q pax-linux || pax-linux --version

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE to a release before 2.2 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison pax-linux sudo apt install pax-linux=<VERSION_BEFORE_2.2> sudo apt-mark hold pax-linux

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

dnf --showduplicates list pax-linux sudo dnf downgrade pax-linux-<VERSION_BEFORE_2.2> sudo dnf versionlock add pax-linux

Downgrade risk

Downgrading can break dependent software and may reopen older bugs. Read the distro advisory first and test on a non-production host.

After downgrade

Restart the service, and keep the package held until a fixed release ships.

Public exploits and detection

Public code exists for this CVE. Treat unpatched systems as at risk, and only run PoCs in a lab.

Exploit-DB: PaX - Double-Mirrored VMA munmap Privilege Escalation

Verify at the official source NVD · CVE Program · Report a problem with this page
Scores and fixes here are computed automatically from those and other public sources. Confirm with the vendor advisory before changing production systems.

Quick answers

How do I fix CVE-2005-0666?

pax linux: downgrade or apply the listed mitigation. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Is CVE-2005-0666 being exploited?

CVE-2005-0666 is not on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list at the time of the last update. Check again, as this can change.

What does CVE-2005-0666 affect?

CVE-2005-0666 affects pax linux. Severity is medium (CVSS 4.6). Unknown vulnerability in PaX from the September 2003 release to 2.2 before 2005.03.05, related to SEGMEXEC or RANDEXEC and VMA mirroring, allows local users and possibly remote attackers to bypass intended access restrictions and execute ar

How urgent is CVE-2005-0666?

Priority 47/100. Public exploit reference; On your watchlist

Related CVEs

CVE-2004-1983 LOW 2.1 DOWNGRADE MITIGATE The arch_get_unmapped_area function in mmap.c in the PaX patches for Linux kernel 2.6, when Address Space Layo

References

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