CVE-2023-26604Public exploit

Local privilege escalation via insecure pager invocation

Published Mar 3, 2023 · Updated Mar 7, 2025

Local privilege escalation in systemd before 247 allows local users to obtain root execution through a sudo-authorized systemctl status command. pager_open invokes less without setting LESSSECURE, so less accepts shell escapes while retaining the elevated effective user ID. Exploitation requires a matching sudoers rule and output long enough to invoke the pager; upstream labels the underlying behavior not a bug.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability1.05%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Local privilege escalation in systemd before 247 allows local users to obtain root execution through a sudo-authorized systemctl status command. pager_open invokes less without setting LESSSECURE, so less accepts shell escapes while retaining the elevated effective user ID. Exploitation requires a matching sudoers rule and output long enough to invoke the pager; upstream labels the underlying behavior not a bug.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-26604
Published
Mar 3, 2023
Updated
Mar 7, 2025
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-269, T1548.003
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 3, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Mar 7, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

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

7.8Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/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
7.8CISA-ADPCVSS: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

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo