HIGH

CVE-2023-22809

CVSS v3

7.8

HIGH

EPSS Score

48.3%

exploit probability

CISA KEV

No

known exploited

Exploitation

SSVC status

Description

In Sudo before 1.9.12p2, the sudoedit (aka -e) feature mishandles extra arguments passed in the user-provided environment variables (SUDO_EDITOR, VISUAL, and EDITOR), allowing a local attacker to append arbitrary entries to the list of files to process. This can lead to privilege escalation. Affected versions are 1.8.0 through 1.9.12.p1. The problem exists because a user-specified editor may contain a "--" argument that defeats a protection mechanism, e.g., an EDITOR='vim -- /path/to/extra/file' value.

Technical details

Published
1/18/2023

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-22809?

In Sudo before 1.9.12p2, the sudoedit (aka -e) feature mishandles extra arguments passed in the user-provided environment variables (SUDO_EDITOR, VISUAL, and EDITOR), allowing a local attacker to append arbitrary entries to the list of files to process. This can lead to privilege escalation. Affected versions are 1.8.0 through 1.9.12.p1. The problem exists because a user-specified editor may contain a "--" argument that defeats a protection mechanism, e.g., an EDITOR='vim -- /path/to/extra/file' value.

Is CVE-2023-22809 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2023-22809 has not been confirmed. The EPSS score is 48.3%, indicating the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-22809?

CVE-2023-22809 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.8 (HIGH severity).

Is CVE-2023-22809 affecting your environment?

Use isMalicious to check if any of your IPs or domains are associated with this vulnerability's IOCs.