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CVE-2023-22809

7.8 · HIGH

In Sudo before 1.9.12p2, the sudoedit (aka -e) feature mishandles extra arguments passed in the user-provided environment variables (SUDO_EDITOR, VISUAL, and EDITOR), allowing a local attacker to a…

Published Jan 18, 2023CWE-269EPSS 55.37%

Overview

CVE-2023-22809 is a high-severity vulnerability. It was published on January 18, 2023 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8, rated HIGH. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

Technical description

In Sudo before 1.9.12p2, the sudoedit (aka -e) feature mishandles extra arguments passed in the user-provided environment variables (SUDO_EDITOR, VISUAL, and EDITOR), allowing a local attacker to append arbitrary entries to the list of files to process. This can lead to privilege escalation. Affected versions are 1.8.0 through 1.9.12.p1. The problem exists because a user-specified editor may contain a "--" argument that defeats a protection mechanism, e.g., an EDITOR='vim -- /path/to/extra/file' value.

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

References

Refpacketstormsecurity.com/files/171644/sudo-1.9.12p1-Privilege-Escalation.htmlRefpacketstormsecurity.com/files/172509/Sudoedit-Extra-Arguments-Privilege-Escalation.htmlRefpacketstormsecurity.com/files/174234/Cisco-ThousandEyes-Enterprise-Agent-Virtual-Appliance-Arbitrary-File-Modification.htmlRefseclists.org/fulldisclosure/2023/Aug/21Refwww.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/01/19/1Reflists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/01/msg00012.htmlReflists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/2QDGFCGAV5QRJCE6IXRXIS4XJHS57DDH/Reflists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/G4YNBTTKTRT2ME3NTSXAPTOKYUE47XHZ/Refsecurity.gentoo.org/glsa/202305-12Refsecurity.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230127-0015/

How CyberStrike helps

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-22809?

CVE-2023-22809 is a high-severity vulnerability. It was published on January 18, 2023 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2023-22809?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8, rated HIGH. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2023-22809?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2023-22809?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2023-22809 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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