CVE-2019-19349Public exploit

Container root escalation via group-writable passwd

Published Mar 24, 2021 · Updated Aug 5, 2024

Incorrect privilege assignment in Red Hat OpenShift Metering Ansible Operator as shipped in OpenShift 4 allows local users to gain root. The container runs its arbitrary UID in group 0 while leaving /etc/passwd group-writable, so that user can append a UID-0 account. Exploitation requires code or shell access inside the container; restricted SCC capabilities and SELinux constrain direct host escape.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.34%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Incorrect privilege assignment in Red Hat OpenShift Metering Ansible Operator as shipped in OpenShift 4 allows local users to gain root. The container runs its arbitrary UID in group 0 while leaving /etc/passwd group-writable, so that user can append a UID-0 account. Exploitation requires code or shell access inside the container; restricted SCC capabilities and SELinux constrain direct host escape.

The record

CVE
CVE-2019-19349
Published
Mar 24, 2021
Updated
Aug 5, 2024
Vendor
Red Hat
Product
OpenShift Metering Ansible Operator
Classifications
CWE-266, T1136.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 24, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 5, 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=as shipped in Red Hat Openshift 4

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Red Hat · OpenShift Metering Ansible Operatorversion=as shipped in Red Hat Openshift 4

Published CVSS scores

4.4NIST NVDAV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-266Incorrect Privilege Assignment
T1136.001Create Account: Local Account

Public exploit references

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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