CVE-2019-19355

Container privilege escalation via writable /etc/passwd

Published Mar 18, 2020 · Updated Aug 5, 2024

Incorrect privilege assignment in Red Hat OpenShift 4 allows local users with container access to elevate privileges by modifying /etc/passwd. The openshift/ansible-operator-container built from ocp-release-operator-sdk assigns permissions that let a container user change the account database. Exploitation requires existing access inside the affected container; resulting account changes can grant higher privileges within that container.

CVSS severity7.0
High
EPSS probability0.24%
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 4 allows local users with container access to elevate privileges by modifying /etc/passwd. The openshift/ansible-operator-container built from ocp-release-operator-sdk assigns permissions that let a container user change the account database. Exploitation requires existing access inside the affected container; resulting account changes can grant higher privileges within that container.

The record

CVE
CVE-2019-19355
Published
Mar 18, 2020
Updated
Aug 5, 2024
Vendor
Red Hat
Product
OpenShift
Classifications
CWE-269, CWE-266, T1098
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 18, 2020CVE 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=Openshift 4

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Red Hat · OpenShiftversion=Openshift 4

Published CVSS scores

7.0Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.4NIST NVDAV:L/AC:M/Au:N/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.

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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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
CWE-266Incorrect Privilege Assignment
T1098Account Manipulation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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