CVE-2019-18898

Root escalation via post-transaction symlink following

Published Jan 23, 2020 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Symlink following in trousers on SLES 15 SP1 and openSUSE Factory allows local users with tss access to take ownership of arbitrary files. The %posttrans package script follows an attacker-controlled link when changing file ownership during trousers installation or update. Control of the tss account and a privileged package transaction are required; redirected ownership changes expose root-owned files and enable escalation to root.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.48%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Symlink following in trousers on SLES 15 SP1 and openSUSE Factory allows local users with tss access to take ownership of arbitrary files. The %posttrans package script follows an attacker-controlled link when changing file ownership during trousers installation or update. Control of the tss account and a privileged package transaction are required; redirected ownership changes expose root-owned files and enable escalation to root.

The record

CVE
CVE-2019-18898
Published
Jan 23, 2020
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
SUSE
Product
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
Classifications
CWE-59, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 23, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 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=trousers <0.3.14-6.3.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

SUSE · SUSE Linux Enterprise Serverversion=trousers <0.3.14-6.3.1
OpenSUSE · openSUSE Factoryversion=trousers <0.3.14-7.1

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
6.7SUSECVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.2NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
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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