CVE-2026-23740

Root command execution via predictable GDB init file

Published Feb 6, 2026 · Updated Feb 6, 2026

Privilege escalation in Asterisk before 20.7-cert9, 20.18.2, 21.12.1, 22.8.2, or 23.2.2 allows local users to run commands as root. The root-only ast_coredumper script writes a predictable GDB initialization file into a caller-selected output directory and then sources it, permitting a pre-created file, symlink, or race to replace its commands. Exploitation requires write access to that directory and an administrator to run the script; a world-writable Linux directory such as /tmp satisfies that condition and also exposes attacker-controlled output paths to file overwrite or deletion.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.12%
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 Asterisk before 20.7-cert9, 20.18.2, 21.12.1, 22.8.2, or 23.2.2 allows local users to run commands as root. The root-only ast_coredumper script writes a predictable GDB initialization file into a caller-selected output directory and then sources it, permitting a pre-created file, symlink, or race to replace its commands. Exploitation requires write access to that directory and an administrator to run the script; a world-writable Linux directory such as /tmp satisfies that condition and also exposes attacker-controlled output paths to file overwrite or deletion.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-23740
Published
Feb 6, 2026
Updated
Feb 6, 2026
Vendor
Asterisk
Product
Asterisk
Classifications
CWE-427, CAPEC-471, CAPEC-38, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 6, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 6, 2026Record 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=< 20.18.2
  2. Affected versionversion=< 20.7-cert9
  3. Affected versionversion=< 21.12.1
  4. Affected versionversion=< 22.8.2
  5. Affected versionversion=< 23.2.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Asterisk · Asteriskversion=< 20.18.2; version=< 20.7-cert9; version=< 21.12.1; version=< 22.8.2; version=< 23.2.2

Published CVSS scores

0.0GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:N
7.8NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-427Uncontrolled Search Path Element
CAPEC-471Search Order Hijacking
CAPEC-38Leveraging/Manipulating Configuration File Search Paths
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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