CVE-2019-19352

Container privilege escalation via writable /etc/passwd

Published Mar 24, 2021 · Updated Aug 5, 2024

Privilege escalation in Presto as shipped in Red Hat OpenShift 4 allows local users with container access to become root by modifying /etc/passwd. The Presto container image grants the root group write permission on /etc/passwd, allowing an in-container user to append a UID 0 account and switch identities. Exploitation requires container access and sufficient privileges to use setuid or setgid; OpenShift's restricted SCC blocks those calls by default, limiting default exposure.

CVSS severity7.0
High
EPSS probability0.26%
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 Presto as shipped in Red Hat OpenShift 4 allows local users with container access to become root by modifying /etc/passwd. The Presto container image grants the root group write permission on /etc/passwd, allowing an in-container user to append a UID 0 account and switch identities. Exploitation requires container access and sufficient privileges to use setuid or setgid; OpenShift's restricted SCC blocks those calls by default, limiting default exposure.

The record

CVE
CVE-2019-19352
Published
Mar 24, 2021
Updated
Aug 5, 2024
Vendor
Red Hat
Product
Presto
Classifications
CWE-266, T1068
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 · Prestoversion=as shipped in Red Hat Openshift 4

Published CVSS scores

4.4NVDAV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
7.0NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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.

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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-266Incorrect Assignment of Critical Privileges
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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