Is CVE-2010-20103 actively exploited?

CVE-2010-20103 has no public evidence of in-the-wild exploitation as of 2025-09-24.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2010-20103?

CVE-2010-20103 has a CVSS score of 9.3 (CRITICAL severity). Vector: 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:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X.

How do I patch CVE-2010-20103?

Patch guidance is available from proftpd security advisories. CVEDatabase generates AI-assisted remediation guidance on demand for CVE-2010-20103.

Fix CVE-2010-20103 - CRITICAL proftpd proftpd

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 Metrics

Vector: 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:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
Attack Vector: network
Complexity: low
Privileges: none
User Action: none
Confidentiality: undefined
Integrity: undefined
Availability: undefined
Weaknesses: CWE-912

Metadata

Primary Vendor: PROFTPD
Published: 8/20/2025
Last Modified: 9/24/2025
Source: NIST NVD
Note: Verify all details with official vendor sources before applying patches.

CVE-2010-20103

Description

CVSS Metrics

Metadata

Affected Products

Remediation Guidance

Executive Summary