CVE-2010-20103
CRITICALEPSS 91th pctlDescription
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 v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
High risk: more likely to be exploited than 91% of all known CVEs.
References
- http://www.proftpd.org/
- https://advisories.checkpoint.com/defense/advisories/public/2011/cpai-2010-151.html/
- https://github.com/proftpd/proftpd
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/master/modules/exploits/unix/ftp/proftpd_133c_backdoor.rb
- https://web.archive.org/web/20111107212129/http://rsync.proftpd.org/
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/15662
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/16921
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/proftpd-backdoor-command-execution
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Start freeThis product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2025-09-24.