CVE-2025-46805

Local process interruption via privileged PID race

Published May 26, 2025 · Updated May 27, 2025

A TOCTOU race in GNU Screen 5.0.0 and older version 4 releases allows local users to signal privileged processes in setuid-root installs. CheckPid validates a user-supplied PID after dropping to the real UID, but Kill later sends SIGHUP or SIGCONT with root privileges after that PID can be reused. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access, a setuid-root installation, and winning the race; successful attempts can interrupt a privileged process or cause a minor integrity violation.

CVSS severity5.7
Medium
EPSS probability0.17%
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

A TOCTOU race in GNU Screen 5.0.0 and older version 4 releases allows local users to signal privileged processes in setuid-root installs. CheckPid validates a user-supplied PID after dropping to the real UID, but Kill later sends SIGHUP or SIGCONT with root privileges after that PID can be reused. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access, a setuid-root installation, and winning the race; successful attempts can interrupt a privileged process or cause a minor integrity violation.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-46805
Published
May 26, 2025
Updated
May 27, 2025
Vendor
The GnuPG Project
Product
GNU Screen
Classifications
CWE-367, T1489
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 26, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 27, 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?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=? <=4.9.1
  2. Affected versionversion=5.0. <=5.0.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The GnuPG Project · GNU Screenversion=? <=4.9.1; version=5.0. <=5.0.0

Published CVSS scores

5.5UbuntuCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.7SUSECVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

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-367Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition
T1489Service Stop

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

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