CVE-2021-3020

Root escalation via unrestricted hawk_invoke shell

Published Aug 25, 2022 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Privilege escalation in ClusterLabs Hawk 2.3.0-15 and earlier allows attackers controlling hacluster to execute commands as root via hawk_invoke. The setuid-root hawk_invoke helper permits an interactive shell through its privileged execution path despite restricting ordinary commands to an allowlist. Control of the hacluster account is required; successful exploitation grants unrestricted root command execution on the Linux host.

CVSS severity8.8
High
EPSS probability1.23%
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 ClusterLabs Hawk 2.3.0-15 and earlier allows attackers controlling hacluster to execute commands as root via hawk_invoke. The setuid-root hawk_invoke helper permits an interactive shell through its privileged execution path despite restricting ordinary commands to an allowlist. Control of the hacluster account is required; successful exploitation grants unrestricted root command execution on the Linux host.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-3020
Published
Aug 25, 2022
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-269, T1548.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
Unavailable

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 25, 2022CVE 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?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

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

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
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
T1548.001Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism: Setuid and Setgid

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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