CVE-2004-2761 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2004-2761
Vulnerability Scoring

9.8
/10
Critical Risk

As a catastrophic security flaw, CVE-2004-2761 has severe implications, demanding immediate intervention.

Attack Complexity Details

  • Attack Complexity: Low
    Exploits can be performed without significant complexity or special conditions.
  • Attack Vector: Network
    Vulnerability is exploitable over a network without physical access.
  • Privileges Required: None
    No privileges are required for exploitation.
  • Scope: Unchanged
    Exploit remains within the originally vulnerable component.
  • User Interaction: None
    No user interaction is necessary for exploitation.

CVE-2004-2761 Details

Status: Modified

Last updated: 🕖 28 May 2026, 19:16 UTC
Originally published on: 🕣 05 Jan 2009, 20:30 UTC

Time between publication and last update: 6351 days

CVSS Release: version 3

CVSS3 Source

134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

CVSS3 Type

Secondary

CVSS3 Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVE-2004-2761 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2004-2761: The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm is not collision resistant, which makes it easier for context-dependent attackers to conduct spoofing attacks, as demonstrated by attacks on the use of MD5 in the signature algorithm of an X.509 certificate.

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2004-2761

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2004-2761 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).

Exploitability Analysis for CVE-2004-2761

With low attack complexity and no required privileges, CVE-2004-2761 is an easy target for cybercriminals. Organizations should prioritize immediate mitigation measures to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches.

Understanding AC and PR

A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.

Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.

Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.

CVSS Score Breakdown Chart

Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2004-2761, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.

CIA Impact Analysis

Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2004-2761, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

  • Confidentiality: High
    Exploiting CVE-2004-2761 can result in unauthorized access to sensitive data, severely compromising data privacy.
  • Integrity: High
    CVE-2004-2761 could allow unauthorized modifications to data, potentially affecting system reliability and trust.
  • Availability: High
    CVE-2004-2761 can disrupt system operations, potentially causing complete denial of service (DoS).

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

The EPSS score estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the near future.

EPSS Score: 8.755% (probability of exploit)

EPSS Percentile: 94.7% (lower percentile = lower relative risk)
This vulnerability is less risky than approximately 5.299999999999997% of others.

CVE-2004-2761 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-328

CAPEC Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification

  • Web Services API Signature Forgery Leveraging Hash Function Extension Weakness CAPEC-461 An adversary utilizes a hash function extension/padding weakness, to modify the parameters passed to the web service requesting authentication by generating their own call in order to generate a legitimate signature hash (as described in the notes), without knowledge of the secret token sometimes provided by the web service.
  • Subvert Code-signing Facilities CAPEC-68 Many languages use code signing facilities to vouch for code's identity and to thus tie code to its assigned privileges within an environment. Subverting this mechanism can be instrumental in an attacker escalating privilege. Any means of subverting the way that a virtual machine enforces code signing classifies for this style of attack.

Vulnerable Configurations

  • cpe:2.3:a:ietf:md5:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:ietf:md5:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:ietf:x.509_certificate:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:ietf:x.509_certificate:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

Protect Your Infrastructure against CVE-2004-2761: Combat Critical CVE Threats

Stay updated with real-time CVE vulnerabilities and take action to secure your systems. Enhance your cybersecurity posture with the latest threat intelligence and mitigation techniques. Develop the skills necessary to defend against CVEs and secure critical infrastructures. Join the top cybersecurity professionals safeguarding today's infrastructures.

Other 5 Recently Published CVEs Vulnerabilities

  • CVE-2026-46324 – In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nf_tables: use list_del_rcu for netlink hooks nft_netdev_unregiste...
  • CVE-2026-46324 – In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nf_tables: use list_del_rcu for netlink hooks nft_netdev_unregiste...
  • CVE-2026-46323 – In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: gro: don't merge zcopy skbs skb_gro_receive() can currently copy frags b...
  • CVE-2026-46323 – In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: gro: don't merge zcopy skbs skb_gro_receive() can currently copy frags b...
  • CVE-2026-46322 – In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tun: free page on build_skb failure in tun_xdp_one() When build_skb() fails i...