CVE-2023-22809Public exploit

Privilege escalation via sudoedit argument injection

Published Jan 18, 2023 · Updated Apr 4, 2025

Privilege escalation in Sudo 1.8.0 through 1.9.12p1 allows local users authorized for sudoedit to write arbitrary files. sudoedit accepts extra arguments after a user-controlled -- token in SUDO_EDITOR, VISUAL, or EDITOR and appends them to its file list. Exploitation requires sudoers permission to run sudoedit; writes occur with the configured RunAs user's privileges, usually root.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability55.37%
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 Sudo 1.8.0 through 1.9.12p1 allows local users authorized for sudoedit to write arbitrary files. sudoedit accepts extra arguments after a user-controlled -- token in SUDO_EDITOR, VISUAL, or EDITOR and appends them to its file list. Exploitation requires sudoers permission to run sudoedit; writes occur with the configured RunAs user's privileges, usually root.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-22809
Published
Jan 18, 2023
Updated
Apr 4, 2025
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-269, T1548.003
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 18, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Apr 4, 2025Record 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

7.8Oracle LinuxCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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
8.1Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
7.8GitHub Advisory DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:L/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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

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 exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
T1548.003Sudo and Sudo Caching

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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