There may exists a vulnerability in the lquerypv command under AIX. I'am not sure what version yet. Please try to fallowing command: /usr/sbin/lquerypv -h /etc/security/passwd You can substitute /etc/security/passwd for any other unreadable file. If the program is able to dump the file (maybe in hex) you got a problem. Please email me what version of AIX you are running, patch level, and if you are vulnerable. I will summarize the resuls and post them to the list.