CVE-2023-41915Network attack vector

Arbitrary file ownership via symlink-following race

Published Sep 9, 2023 · Updated Aug 2, 2024

Race condition in OpenPMIx PMIx before 4.2.6 and 5.0.x before 5.0.1 allows attackers to take ownership of arbitrary files. Privileged dstore and PTY paths call chown on attacker-replaceable pathnames, following a substituted symbolic link to its target. The race is reachable only when PMIx library code runs with UID 0; a successful swap changes the target file's owner rather than its contents.

CVSS severity8.1
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

Race condition in OpenPMIx PMIx before 4.2.6 and 5.0.x before 5.0.1 allows attackers to take ownership of arbitrary files. Privileged dstore and PTY paths call chown on attacker-replaceable pathnames, following a substituted symbolic link to its target. The race is reachable only when PMIx library code runs with UID 0; a successful swap changes the target file's owner rather than its contents.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-41915
Published
Sep 9, 2023
Updated
Aug 2, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-362, T1222.002
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 9, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 2, 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 vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

6.3Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
8.1NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-362Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')
T1222.002Linux and Mac File and Directory Permissions Modification

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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