CVE-2019-20384Public exploit

Root privilege escalation via writable mock-install directory

Published Jan 20, 2020 · Updated Aug 5, 2024

A race condition in Gentoo Portage 2.3.84 and earlier allows local users controlling the nagios account to gain root via package builds. During a nagios-core build, emake leaves the mock-image plugin directory owned by nagios until fowners changes ownership, allowing planted content to enter the live filesystem. Exploitation requires local nagios-account access and a concurrent privileged package build.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.27%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

A race condition in Gentoo Portage 2.3.84 and earlier allows local users controlling the nagios account to gain root via package builds. During a nagios-core build, emake leaves the mock-image plugin directory owned by nagios until fowners changes ownership, allowing planted content to enter the live filesystem. Exploitation requires local nagios-account access and a concurrent privileged package build.

The record

CVE
CVE-2019-20384
Published
Jan 20, 2020
Updated
Aug 5, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-362, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 20, 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?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
2.1NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N

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 exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-362Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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