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.
                
            References
                    | Link | Resource | 
|---|---|
| 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 | Exploit Third Party Advisory | 
| https://web.archive.org/web/20111107212129/http://rsync.proftpd.org/ | Release Notes | 
| https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/15662 | Exploit VDB Entry | 
| https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/16921 | Exploit VDB 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 | Exploit Third Party Advisory | 
| https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/15662 | Exploit VDB Entry | 
| https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/16921 | Exploit VDB Entry | 
Configurations
                    History
                    24 Sep 2025, 17:02
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added | 
|---|---|---|
| First Time | Proftpd Proftpd proftpd | |
| CVSS | v2 : v3 : | v2 : unknown v3 : 9.8 | 
| CPE | cpe:2.3:a:proftpd:proftpd:1.3.3:c:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| References | () http://www.proftpd.org/ - Product | |
| References | () https://advisories.checkpoint.com/defense/advisories/public/2011/cpai-2010-151.html/ - Third Party Advisory | |
| References | () https://github.com/proftpd/proftpd - Product | |
| References | () https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/master/modules/exploits/unix/ftp/proftpd_133c_backdoor.rb - Exploit, Third Party Advisory | |
| References | () https://web.archive.org/web/20111107212129/http://rsync.proftpd.org/ - Release Notes | |
| References | () https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/15662 - Exploit, VDB Entry | |
| References | () https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/16921 - Exploit, VDB Entry | |
| References | () https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/proftpd-backdoor-command-execution - Third Party Advisory | 
22 Aug 2025, 16:15
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added | 
|---|---|---|
| Summary | 
 | |
| References | () https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/master/modules/exploits/unix/ftp/proftpd_133c_backdoor.rb - | |
| References | () https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/15662 - | |
| References | () https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/16921 - | 
20 Aug 2025, 16:15
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added | 
|---|---|---|
| New CVE | 
Information
                Published : 2025-08-20 16:15
Updated : 2025-09-24 17:02
NVD link : CVE-2010-20103
Mitre link : CVE-2010-20103
CVE.ORG link : CVE-2010-20103
JSON object : View
Products Affected
                proftpd
- proftpd
CWE
                
                    
                        
                        CWE-912
                        
            Hidden Functionality
