CVE-2012-3490Network attack vector

Root privilege escalation via unchecked setuid failure

Published Jan 9, 2020 · Updated Aug 6, 2024

Privilege escalation in HTCondor 7.6.x before 7.6.10 and 7.8.x before 7.8.4 allows remote authenticated users to create root subprocesses. The my_popenv_impl, my_spawnv, and systemCommand functions continue after setuid or related identity changes fail, leaving child processes privileged. Exploitation requires VMware support to be compiled in and the relevant daemon to run as root; successful use executes code with root privileges.

CVSS severity8.8
High
EPSS probability3.57%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in HTCondor 7.6.x before 7.6.10 and 7.8.x before 7.8.4 allows remote authenticated users to create root subprocesses. The my_popenv_impl, my_spawnv, and systemCommand functions continue after setuid or related identity changes fail, leaving child processes privileged. Exploitation requires VMware support to be compiled in and the relevant daemon to run as root; successful use executes code with root privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2012-3490
Published
Jan 9, 2020
Updated
Aug 6, 2024
Vendor
Center for High Throughput Computing
Product
HTCondor
Classifications
T1068
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 9, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 6, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=7.6.x before 7.6.10 and 7.8.x before 7.8.4

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Center for High Throughput Computing · HTCondorversion=7.6.x before 7.6.10 and 7.8.x before 7.8.4

Published CVSS scores

8.8UbuntuCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
9.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C
4.6Red HatAV:N/AC:H/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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