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Vulnerability record · CVE-2010-20103 · published 20 August 2025

CVE-2010-20103: Proftpd vulnerability

PProftpd · Proftpd

A malicious backdoor was embedded in the official ProFTPD 1.3.3c source tarball distributed between November 28 and December 2, 2010. The backdoor implements a hidden FTP command trigger that, when invoked, causes the server to execute arbitrary shell commands with root privileges. This allows remote, unauthenticated attackers to run any OS command on the FTP server host.

9.3 CVSS 4.0 Critical EPSS 5.1% · top 7.9% CWE-912 · CWE-912
9.3CVSS 4.0 base score
5.1%EPSS exploitation probability, 30 days
NoNot in CISA KEV
1Affected product versions listed by NVD
11References, 6 tagged exploit
15 Jul 2026Last modified by NVD

Description

A malicious backdoor was embedded in the official ProFTPD 1.3.3c source tarball distributed between November 28 and December 2, 2010. The backdoor implements a hidden FTP command trigger that, when invoked, causes the server to execute arbitrary shell commands with root privileges. This allows remote, unauthenticated attackers to run any OS command on the FTP server host.

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:

Affected products

1 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.

References

LinkTags
http://www.proftpd.org/ Product
https://advisories.checkpoint.com/defense/advisories/public/2011/cpai-2010-151.html/ Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/proftpd/proftpd Product
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/master/modules/exploits/unix/ftp/proftpd_133c_backdoor.rb ExploitThird Party Advisory
https://web.archive.org/web/20111107212129/http://rsync.proftpd.org/ Release Notes
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/15662 ExploitVDB Entry
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/16921 ExploitVDB Entry
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/proftpd-backdoor-command-execution Third Party Advisory
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/master/modules/exploits/unix/ftp/proftpd_133c_backdoor.rb ExploitThird Party Advisory
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/15662 ExploitVDB Entry
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/16921 ExploitVDB Entry

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Related vulnerabilities

Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.

10.0CVE-2015-3306ProFTPD mod_copy arbitrary file read and writeThe mod_copy module in ProFTPD 1.3.5 fails to restrict the SITE CPFR and SITE CPTO commands, letting remote attackers copy arbitrary files on the ser…EPSS 97%analysed10.0CVE-2010-4221ProFTPD TELNET IAC handling stack buffer overflow allows remote code executionProFTPD before 1.3.3c contains multiple stack-based buffer overflows in the pr_netio_telnet_gets function in netio.c. A remote attacker can trigger t…EPSS 91%analysed9.8CVE-2019-12815ProFTPD mod_copy arbitrary file copy enables unauthenticated RCEmod_copy in ProFTPD up to 1.3.5b performs an arbitrary file copy without validating the source or destination, letting an unauthenticated remote clie…EPSS 58%analysed9.0CVE-2011-4130Proftpd vulnerabilityUse-after-free vulnerability in the Response API in ProFTPD before 1.3.3g allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary code via vectors inv…EPSS 13%8.8CVE-2020-9273Proftpd use after free vulnerabilityIn ProFTPD 1.3.7, it is possible to corrupt the memory pool by interrupting the data transfer channel. This triggers a use-after-free in alloc_pool i…EPSS 12%8.7CVE-2026-63090Proftpd heap-based buffer overflow vulnerabilityProFTPD before 1.3.9c and 1.3.10rc3 contains a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the mod_sftp module that allows authenticated low-privileg…EPSS 0.93%8.6CVE-2026-35025Proftpd link following vulnerabilityProFTPD through 1.3.9b and 1.3.10rc2 contains an access control bypass vulnerability that allows authenticated FTP users to circumvent Directory ACL …EPSS 0.51%8.1CVE-2026-42167Proftpd sql injection vulnerabilitymod_sql in ProFTPD before 1.3.9a allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a username, in scenarios where there is logging of USER reques…EPSS 7.3%

Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2010-20103), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-26). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.