CVE-2019-25016Public exploit

Local privilege escalation via inherited user PATH

Published Jan 28, 2021 · Updated Aug 5, 2024

Unsafe environment inheritance in OpenDoas 6.6 through 6.8 allows local users to escalate privileges via a poisoned PATH. For unrestricted command rules, prepenv copies getenv("PATH") into the target environment, preserving an attacker-controlled search path after the user-context change. Exploitation requires an authenticated local user, control of PATH, and a rule permitting any command; command-specific rules are unaffected.

CVSS severity8.8
High
EPSS probability2.65%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Unsafe environment inheritance in OpenDoas 6.6 through 6.8 allows local users to escalate privileges via a poisoned PATH. For unrestricted command rules, prepenv copies getenv("PATH") into the target environment, preserving an attacker-controlled search path after the user-context change. Exploitation requires an authenticated local user, control of PATH, and a rule permitting any command; command-specific rules are unaffected.

The record

CVE
CVE-2019-25016
Published
Jan 28, 2021
Updated
Aug 5, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-909, CWE-459, T1574.007
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 28, 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?

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

8.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
6.5NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/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 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-909Missing Initialization of Resource
CWE-459Incomplete Cleanup
T1574.007Path Interception by PATH Environment Variable

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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