CVE-2019-13272

Linux Kernel: Improper Privilege Management

As of , CVE-2019-13272 in Linux Kernel is on CISA's list of exploited vulnerabilities: CISA listed it on . Our patch-first group: Patch this week.

Exploited
Yes: CISA listed it on 10 December 2021
US federal deadline
10 June 2022182 days after CISA listed it. US federal civilian agencies must fix it by then.
Used in ransomware campaigns
Not known to CISA
EPSS score
0.52Higher than 98% of the CVEs EPSS scores. EPSS estimates the chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days.
EPSS when listed
Not availableCISA listed it before 4 February 2022, where the EPSS files we read begin.
Public exploit
1 Metasploit module and 4 Exploit-DB entries (2 verified)
Fix
No vendor link in CISA's entry

What CISA says to do

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

CISA's required action

What the flaw is

Kernel/ptrace.c in Linux kernel mishandles contains an improper privilege management vulnerability that allows local users to obtain root access.

CISA's description

In the Linux kernel before 5.1.17, ptrace_link in kernel/ptrace.c mishandles the recording of the credentials of a process that wants to create a ptrace relationship, which allows local users to obtain root access by leveraging certain scenarios with a parent-child process relationship, where a parent drops privileges and calls execve (potentially allowing control by an attacker). One contributing factor is an object lifetime issue (which can also cause a panic). Another contributing factor is incorrect marking of a ptrace relationship as privileged, which is exploitable through (for example) Polkit's pkexec helper with PTRACE_TRACEME. NOTE: SELinux deny_ptrace might be a usable workaround in some environments.

The CVE record's description, from mitre

CVE published
17 July 2019
Assigned by
mitre
CVSS
7.8 High (CVSS 3.1, from CISA-ADP)
CWE-269
Improper Privilege Management
CISA SSVC, exploitation
active
CISA SSVC, automatable
no
CISA SSVC, technical impact
total

Timeline

  1. The CVE record was published.
  2. Exploit-DB published an exploit (EDB-ID 47133).
  3. Exploit-DB published an exploit (EDB-ID 47163).
  4. Exploit-DB published an exploit (EDB-ID 47543).
  5. Exploit-DB published an exploit (EDB-ID 50541).
  6. CISA added it to its list of exploited vulnerabilities.
  7. The US federal deadline to fix it.

Public exploits

Facts from Metasploit's module list and Exploit-DB's index; we never copy exploit code.

Kernel: other exploited entries

VulnerabilityProductOur groupListedDeadlineEPSS
CVE-2025-39682Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional ConditionsLinux KernelPatch nowForensic triage required by CISA0.03
CVE-2025-39964Race ConditionLinux KernelPatch nowForensic triage required by CISA0.01
CVE-2026-53266Out-of-Bounds WriteLinux KernelPatch nowForensic triage required by CISA0.01
CVE-2026-53362UnspecifiedLinux KernelPatch nowForensic triage required by CISA0.01
CVE-2021-22555Heap Out-of-Bounds WriteLinux KernelPatch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.79; verified Exploit-DB entry0.79
CVE-2013-6282Improper Input ValidationLinux KernelPatch this weekMetasploit module; verified Exploit-DB entry0.40
CVE-2010-3904Improper Input ValidationLinux KernelPatch this weekMetasploit module; verified Exploit-DB entry0.16
CVE-2022-0847Privilege EscalationLinux KernelPatch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.930.93
CVE-2021-3493Privilege EscalationLinux KernelPatch this weekMetasploit module0.49
CVE-2014-3153Privilege EscalationLinux KernelPatch this weekMetasploit module0.37

All 31 entries for Kernel

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