CVE-2023-22809 (GCVE-0-2023-22809)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2023-01-18 00:00 – Updated: 2025-04-04 15:45
VLAI
EPSS
VEX
Summary
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.
Severity
7.8 (High)
SSVC
Exploitation: none
Automatable: no
Technical Impact: total
CISA Coordinator · CISA-ADP (v2.0.3)
Decision recorded 2025-04-04 15:43 UTC
CWE
- n/a
- CWE-269 - Improper Privilege Management
Assigner
References
14 references
{
"containers": {
"adp": [
{
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2024-08-02T10:20:30.856Z",
"orgId": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108",
"shortName": "CVE"
},
"references": [
{
"tags": [
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "https://www.synacktiv.com/sites/default/files/2023-01/sudo-CVE-2023-22809.pdf"
},
{
"tags": [
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "https://www.sudo.ws/security/advisories/sudoedit_any/"
},
{
"name": "[debian-lts-announce] 20230118 [SECURITY] [DLA 3272-1] sudo security update",
"tags": [
"mailing-list",
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/01/msg00012.html"
},
{
"name": "DSA-5321",
"tags": [
"vendor-advisory",
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5321"
},
{
"name": "[oss-security] 20230119 CVE-2023-22809: Sudoedit can edit arbitrary files",
"tags": [
"mailing-list",
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/01/19/1"
},
{
"name": "FEDORA-2023-9078f609e6",
"tags": [
"vendor-advisory",
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/2QDGFCGAV5QRJCE6IXRXIS4XJHS57DDH/"
},
{
"tags": [
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230127-0015/"
},
{
"name": "FEDORA-2023-298c136eee",
"tags": [
"vendor-advisory",
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/G4YNBTTKTRT2ME3NTSXAPTOKYUE47XHZ/"
},
{
"tags": [
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/171644/sudo-1.9.12p1-Privilege-Escalation.html"
},
{
"name": "GLSA-202305-12",
"tags": [
"vendor-advisory",
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202305-12"
},
{
"tags": [
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "https://support.apple.com/kb/HT213758"
},
{
"tags": [
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/172509/Sudoedit-Extra-Arguments-Privilege-Escalation.html"
},
{
"name": "20230817 KL-001-2023-003: Cisco ThousandEyes Enterprise Agent Virtual Appliance Arbitrary File Modification via sudoedit",
"tags": [
"mailing-list",
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2023/Aug/21"
},
{
"tags": [
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/174234/Cisco-ThousandEyes-Enterprise-Agent-Virtual-Appliance-Arbitrary-File-Modification.html"
}
],
"title": "CVE Program Container"
},
{
"metrics": [
{
"cvssV3_1": {
"attackComplexity": "LOW",
"attackVector": "LOCAL",
"availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
"baseScore": 7.8,
"baseSeverity": "HIGH",
"confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
"integrityImpact": "HIGH",
"privilegesRequired": "LOW",
"scope": "UNCHANGED",
"userInteraction": "NONE",
"vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"version": "3.1"
}
},
{
"other": {
"content": {
"id": "CVE-2023-22809",
"options": [
{
"Exploitation": "none"
},
{
"Automatable": "no"
},
{
"Technical Impact": "total"
}
],
"role": "CISA Coordinator",
"timestamp": "2025-04-04T15:43:57.601703Z",
"version": "2.0.3"
},
"type": "ssvc"
}
}
],
"problemTypes": [
{
"descriptions": [
{
"cweId": "CWE-269",
"description": "CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management",
"lang": "en",
"type": "CWE"
}
]
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2025-04-04T15:45:24.835Z",
"orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
"shortName": "CISA-ADP"
},
"title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment"
}
],
"cna": {
"affected": [
{
"product": "n/a",
"vendor": "n/a",
"versions": [
{
"status": "affected",
"version": "n/a"
}
]
}
],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "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=\u0027vim -- /path/to/extra/file\u0027 value."
}
],
"problemTypes": [
{
"descriptions": [
{
"description": "n/a",
"lang": "en",
"type": "text"
}
]
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2023-09-06T07:06:47.365Z",
"orgId": "8254265b-2729-46b6-b9e3-3dfca2d5bfca",
"shortName": "mitre"
},
"references": [
{
"url": "https://www.synacktiv.com/sites/default/files/2023-01/sudo-CVE-2023-22809.pdf"
},
{
"url": "https://www.sudo.ws/security/advisories/sudoedit_any/"
},
{
"name": "[debian-lts-announce] 20230118 [SECURITY] [DLA 3272-1] sudo security update",
"tags": [
"mailing-list"
],
"url": "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/01/msg00012.html"
},
{
"name": "DSA-5321",
"tags": [
"vendor-advisory"
],
"url": "https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5321"
},
{
"name": "[oss-security] 20230119 CVE-2023-22809: Sudoedit can edit arbitrary files",
"tags": [
"mailing-list"
],
"url": "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/01/19/1"
},
{
"name": "FEDORA-2023-9078f609e6",
"tags": [
"vendor-advisory"
],
"url": "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/2QDGFCGAV5QRJCE6IXRXIS4XJHS57DDH/"
},
{
"url": "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230127-0015/"
},
{
"name": "FEDORA-2023-298c136eee",
"tags": [
"vendor-advisory"
],
"url": "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/G4YNBTTKTRT2ME3NTSXAPTOKYUE47XHZ/"
},
{
"url": "http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/171644/sudo-1.9.12p1-Privilege-Escalation.html"
},
{
"name": "GLSA-202305-12",
"tags": [
"vendor-advisory"
],
"url": "https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202305-12"
},
{
"url": "https://support.apple.com/kb/HT213758"
},
{
"url": "http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/172509/Sudoedit-Extra-Arguments-Privilege-Escalation.html"
},
{
"name": "20230817 KL-001-2023-003: Cisco ThousandEyes Enterprise Agent Virtual Appliance Arbitrary File Modification via sudoedit",
"tags": [
"mailing-list"
],
"url": "http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2023/Aug/21"
},
{
"url": "http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/174234/Cisco-ThousandEyes-Enterprise-Agent-Virtual-Appliance-Arbitrary-File-Modification.html"
}
]
}
},
"cveMetadata": {
"assignerOrgId": "8254265b-2729-46b6-b9e3-3dfca2d5bfca",
"assignerShortName": "mitre",
"cveId": "CVE-2023-22809",
"datePublished": "2023-01-18T00:00:00.000Z",
"dateReserved": "2023-01-06T00:00:00.000Z",
"dateUpdated": "2025-04-04T15:45:24.835Z",
"state": "PUBLISHED"
},
"dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
"dataVersion": "5.1",
"vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
"epss": {
"cve": "CVE-2023-22809",
"date": "2026-10-03",
"epss": "0.55367",
"percentile": "0.99008"
},
"vulnrichment": {
"containers": {
"adp": [
{
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2024-08-02T10:20:30.856Z",
"orgId": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108",
"shortName": "CVE"
},
"references": [
{
"tags": [
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "https://www.synacktiv.com/sites/default/files/2023-01/sudo-CVE-2023-22809.pdf"
},
{
"tags": [
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "https://www.sudo.ws/security/advisories/sudoedit_any/"
},
{
"name": "[debian-lts-announce] 20230118 [SECURITY] [DLA 3272-1] sudo security update",
"tags": [
"mailing-list",
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/01/msg00012.html"
},
{
"name": "DSA-5321",
"tags": [
"vendor-advisory",
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5321"
},
{
"name": "[oss-security] 20230119 CVE-2023-22809: Sudoedit can edit arbitrary files",
"tags": [
"mailing-list",
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/01/19/1"
},
{
"name": "FEDORA-2023-9078f609e6",
"tags": [
"vendor-advisory",
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/2QDGFCGAV5QRJCE6IXRXIS4XJHS57DDH/"
},
{
"tags": [
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230127-0015/"
},
{
"name": "FEDORA-2023-298c136eee",
"tags": [
"vendor-advisory",
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/G4YNBTTKTRT2ME3NTSXAPTOKYUE47XHZ/"
},
{
"tags": [
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/171644/sudo-1.9.12p1-Privilege-Escalation.html"
},
{
"name": "GLSA-202305-12",
"tags": [
"vendor-advisory",
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202305-12"
},
{
"tags": [
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "https://support.apple.com/kb/HT213758"
},
{
"tags": [
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/172509/Sudoedit-Extra-Arguments-Privilege-Escalation.html"
},
{
"name": "20230817 KL-001-2023-003: Cisco ThousandEyes Enterprise Agent Virtual Appliance Arbitrary File Modification via sudoedit",
"tags": [
"mailing-list",
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2023/Aug/21"
},
{
"tags": [
"x_transferred"
],
"url": "http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/174234/Cisco-ThousandEyes-Enterprise-Agent-Virtual-Appliance-Arbitrary-File-Modification.html"
}
],
"title": "CVE Program Container"
},
{
"metrics": [
{
"cvssV3_1": {
"attackComplexity": "LOW",
"attackVector": "LOCAL",
"availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
"baseScore": 7.8,
"baseSeverity": "HIGH",
"confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
"integrityImpact": "HIGH",
"privilegesRequired": "LOW",
"scope": "UNCHANGED",
"userInteraction": "NONE",
"vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"version": "3.1"
}
},
{
"other": {
"content": {
"id": "CVE-2023-22809",
"options": [
{
"Exploitation": "none"
},
{
"Automatable": "no"
},
{
"Technical Impact": "total"
}
],
"role": "CISA Coordinator",
"timestamp": "2025-04-04T15:43:57.601703Z",
"version": "2.0.3"
},
"type": "ssvc"
}
}
],
"problemTypes": [
{
"descriptions": [
{
"cweId": "CWE-269",
"description": "CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management",
"lang": "en",
"type": "CWE"
}
]
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2025-04-04T15:45:18.109Z",
"orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
"shortName": "CISA-ADP"
},
"title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment"
}
],
"cna": {
"affected": [
{
"product": "n/a",
"vendor": "n/a",
"versions": [
{
"status": "affected",
"version": "n/a"
}
]
}
],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "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=\u0027vim -- /path/to/extra/file\u0027 value."
}
],
"problemTypes": [
{
"descriptions": [
{
"description": "n/a",
"lang": "en",
"type": "text"
}
]
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2023-09-06T07:06:47.365Z",
"orgId": "8254265b-2729-46b6-b9e3-3dfca2d5bfca",
"shortName": "mitre"
},
"references": [
{
"url": "https://www.synacktiv.com/sites/default/files/2023-01/sudo-CVE-2023-22809.pdf"
},
{
"url": "https://www.sudo.ws/security/advisories/sudoedit_any/"
},
{
"name": "[debian-lts-announce] 20230118 [SECURITY] [DLA 3272-1] sudo security update",
"tags": [
"mailing-list"
],
"url": "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/01/msg00012.html"
},
{
"name": "DSA-5321",
"tags": [
"vendor-advisory"
],
"url": "https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5321"
},
{
"name": "[oss-security] 20230119 CVE-2023-22809: Sudoedit can edit arbitrary files",
"tags": [
"mailing-list"
],
"url": "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/01/19/1"
},
{
"name": "FEDORA-2023-9078f609e6",
"tags": [
"vendor-advisory"
],
"url": "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/2QDGFCGAV5QRJCE6IXRXIS4XJHS57DDH/"
},
{
"url": "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230127-0015/"
},
{
"name": "FEDORA-2023-298c136eee",
"tags": [
"vendor-advisory"
],
"url": "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/G4YNBTTKTRT2ME3NTSXAPTOKYUE47XHZ/"
},
{
"url": "http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/171644/sudo-1.9.12p1-Privilege-Escalation.html"
},
{
"name": "GLSA-202305-12",
"tags": [
"vendor-advisory"
],
"url": "https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202305-12"
},
{
"url": "https://support.apple.com/kb/HT213758"
},
{
"url": "http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/172509/Sudoedit-Extra-Arguments-Privilege-Escalation.html"
},
{
"name": "20230817 KL-001-2023-003: Cisco ThousandEyes Enterprise Agent Virtual Appliance Arbitrary File Modification via sudoedit",
"tags": [
"mailing-list"
],
"url": "http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2023/Aug/21"
},
{
"url": "http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/174234/Cisco-ThousandEyes-Enterprise-Agent-Virtual-Appliance-Arbitrary-File-Modification.html"
}
]
}
},
"cveMetadata": {
"assignerOrgId": "8254265b-2729-46b6-b9e3-3dfca2d5bfca",
"assignerShortName": "mitre",
"cveId": "CVE-2023-22809",
"datePublished": "2023-01-18T00:00:00.000Z",
"dateReserved": "2023-01-06T00:00:00.000Z",
"dateUpdated": "2025-04-04T15:45:24.835Z",
"state": "PUBLISHED"
},
"dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
"dataVersion": "5.1"
}
}
}
Loading…
Loading…
Experimental. This forecast is provided for visualization only and may change without notice. Do not use it for operational decisions.
Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
Loading…
The MITRE ATT&CK techniques below are AI-generated suggestions, inferred from the description of the
vulnerability by the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-classification-roberta-base
model, served locally by ML-Gateway.
They have not been verified by an analyst and are provided for guidance only.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
Browse all ATT&CK techniques and the vulnerabilities related to each.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
Browse all ATT&CK techniques and the vulnerabilities related to each.
Loading…
Related by attack behaviour
Vulnerabilities whose description is nearest to this one in the vector space of the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-biencoder model. This is a similarity search over the bi-encoder space (plain cosine), not a classification, and it has no measured accuracy.
Loading…