CVE-2021-29428

Local privilege escalation via temporary-directory replacement race

Published Apr 13, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Local privilege escalation in Gradle Build Tool before 7.0 allows local users to execute commands through a temporary-directory race. DefaultTemporaryFileProvider creates a file with File.createTempFile, deletes it, and then makes a directory at the same path, allowing replacement during the gap. Exploitation requires an affected Kotlin DSL precompiled-script, ProjectBuilder, or TestKit build on a Unix-like host whose system temporary directory lacks the sticky bit; Windows and modern macOS are unaffected.

CVSS severity8.8
High
EPSS probability0.53%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Local privilege escalation in Gradle Build Tool before 7.0 allows local users to execute commands through a temporary-directory race. DefaultTemporaryFileProvider creates a file with File.createTempFile, deletes it, and then makes a directory at the same path, allowing replacement during the gap. Exploitation requires an affected Kotlin DSL precompiled-script, ProjectBuilder, or TestKit build on a Unix-like host whose system temporary directory lacks the sticky bit; Windows and modern macOS are unaffected.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-29428
Published
Apr 13, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Gradle, Inc.
Product
Gradle Build Tool
Classifications
CWE-378, CWE-379, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 13, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 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=< 7.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Gradle, Inc. · Gradle Build Toolversion=< 7.0

Published CVSS scores

8.8GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/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.

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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-378Creation of Temporary File With Insecure Permissions
CWE-379Creation of Temporary File in Directory with Insecure Permissions
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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