In systemd before v242-rc4, it was discovered that pam_systemd does not properly sanitize the environment before using the XDG_SEAT variable
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Monitor (action score 28/100)
- Public proof-of-concept code exists (Exploit-DB); there is no record of exploitation in the wild.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 1.2% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 68% of all records.
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.
- Fixed version: systemd (Debian:12) 241-3; systemd (Debian:8) 215-17+deb8u12; systemd (Debian:9) 232-25+deb9u11.
- Severity is disputed: the assigning authority (CNA) scores it 4.5, NVD 7.0.
- Mentioned 1 time in Turkish national cyber security advisories (siberguvenlik.gov.tr).
Low priority for now. Upgrade to systemd (Debian:12) 241-3; systemd (Debian:8) 215-17+deb8u12; systemd (Debian:9) 232-25+deb9u11 or later.
Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it
Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS
In systemd before v242-rc4, it was discovered that pam_systemd does not properly sanitize the environment before using the XDG_SEAT variable. It is possible for an attacker, in some particular configurations, to set a XDG_SEAT environment variable which allows for commands to be checked against polkit policies using the "allow_active" element rather than "allow_any".
- Published
- Apr 9, 2019
- Updated
- Jun 16, 2026
- EPSS
- 1.2% · 68th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-285
Report tools
Action score
28
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 28 / 40 · 7.0 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 1.2%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- partial
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- 7.0
- CNA · redhat
- 4.5
- 2.5 point gap
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Get told when this record changes
- Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
- Proof of concept exists, no weaponized module
- A fix has been released
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
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Noroxi analysis
What does it mean in your environment?
The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
Is your version affected?
Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| systemd project | systemd | cpe:2.3:a:systemd_project:systemd |
| redhat | enterprise linux | cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux |
| fedoraproject | fedora | cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora |
| debian | debian linux | cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- debian debian linux8.0
- fedoraproject fedora30
- redhat enterprise linux7.0
- systemd project systemdup to 241 inclusive
- systemd project systemd242
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (redhat). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
The systemd Project systemd
- v242-rc4affected
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | systemd | before 241-3 | 241-3 |
| Debian:8 | systemd | before 215-17+deb8u12 | 215-17+deb8u12 |
| Debian:9 | systemd | before 232-25+deb9u11 | 232-25+deb9u11 |
| openSUSE:Tumbleweed | systemd | before 249.4-2.2 | 249.4-2.2 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | systemd | before 0:239-45.el8 | 0:239-45.el8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | systemd-container | before 0:239-45.el8 | 0:239-45.el8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | systemd-container-debuginfo | before 0:239-45.el8 | 0:239-45.el8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | systemd-debuginfo | before 0:239-45.el8 | 0:239-45.el8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | systemd-debugsource | before 0:239-45.el8 | 0:239-45.el8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | systemd-devel | before 0:239-45.el8 | 0:239-45.el8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | systemd-journal-remote | before 0:239-45.el8 | 0:239-45.el8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | systemd-journal-remote-debuginfo | before 0:239-45.el8 | 0:239-45.el8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | systemd-libs | before 0:239-45.el8 | 0:239-45.el8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | systemd-libs-debuginfo | before 0:239-45.el8 | 0:239-45.el8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | systemd-pam | before 0:239-45.el8 | 0:239-45.el8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | systemd-pam-debuginfo | before 0:239-45.el8 | 0:239-45.el8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | systemd-tests | before 0:239-45.el8 | 0:239-45.el8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | systemd-tests-debuginfo | before 0:239-45.el8 | 0:239-45.el8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | systemd-udev | before 0:239-45.el8 | 0:239-45.el8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | systemd-udev-debuginfo | before 0:239-45.el8 | 0:239-45.el8 |
| Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.2::baseos | systemd | before 0:239-31.el8_2.7 | 0:239-31.el8_2.7 |
| Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.2::baseos | systemd-container | before 0:239-31.el8_2.7 | 0:239-31.el8_2.7 |
| Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.2::baseos | systemd-container-debuginfo | before 0:239-31.el8_2.7 | 0:239-31.el8_2.7 |
| Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.2::baseos | systemd-debuginfo | before 0:239-31.el8_2.7 | 0:239-31.el8_2.7 |
+15
Same product
systemd project: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2017-9445In systemd through 233, certain sizes passed to dns_packet_new in systemd-resolved can cause it to allocate a buffer that's too small.46Plan
- CVE-2018-21029systemd 239 through 245 accepts any certificate signed by a trusted certificate authority for DNS Over TLS.40Plan
- CVE-2015-7510Stack-based buffer overflow in the getpwnam and getgrnam functions of the NSS module nss-mymachines in systemd.40Plan
Published before and after this one in the same product
- ← EarlierCVE-2018-16888Jan 14, 2019 · It was discovered systemd does not correctly check the content of PIDFile files before using it to kill processes.18Monitor
- ← EarlierCVE-2019-6454Mar 21, 2019 · An issue was discovered in sd-bus in systemd 239.23Monitor
- Later →CVE-2019-3843Apr 26, 2019 · It was discovered that a systemd service that uses DynamicUser property can create a SUID/SGID binary that would be allowed to run as the tr31Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| debian:systemd | 241-3 · Debian:12 | Package registry (OSV) |
| opensuse:systemd | 249.4-2.2 · openSUSE:Tumbleweed | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:systemd | 0:239-45.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:systemd-container | 0:239-45.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:systemd-container-debuginfo | 0:239-45.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:systemd-debuginfo | 0:239-45.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:systemd-debugsource | 0:239-45.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:systemd-devel | 0:239-45.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:systemd-journal-remote | 0:239-45.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:systemd-journal-remote-debuginfo | 0:239-45.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:systemd-libs | 0:239-45.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:systemd-libs-debuginfo | 0:239-45.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:systemd-pam | 0:239-45.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:systemd-pam-debuginfo | 0:239-45.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | Package registry (OSV) |
| rocky linux:systemd | 0:239-45.el8 · Rocky Linux:8 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:systemd | 228-150.66.4 · SUSE:OpenStack Cloud 7 | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
Proof of concept available
A public proof of concept or detection signature exists. Exploit knowledge is out there; don't delay patching.
Evidence
- Exploit-DB entry ×1
Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.
| Source | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Exploit-DB entry | dos | 2019-04-23 |
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
- Published
- First PoC+13 d
- TodayOct 22, 2026+2753 d
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
National notice (Türkiye Cybersecurity Directorate / USOM)
Official security notices citing this record; remediation advice is on the agency's page.
- TR-21-0772 · Sep 23, 2021(RedHat Güvenlik Zafiyeti)
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
- A low-privileged account is enough.
- No user action is required.
- Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- high · data can be read
- Integrity
- high · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Local
- Attack complexity
- High
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- High
- Integrity impact
- High
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-285 · Improper AuthorizationCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
nvd-primary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
- Accessing Functionality Not Properly Constrained by ACLsCAPEC-1likelihood: High · High
- Cross Zone ScriptingCAPEC-104likelihood: Medium · High
- Directory IndexingCAPEC-127likelihood: High · Medium
- Subverting Environment Variable ValuesCAPEC-13likelihood: High · Very High
- Using Malicious FilesCAPEC-17likelihood: High · Very High
- Manipulating Opaque Client-based Data TokensCAPEC-39likelihood: High · Medium
- Bypassing ATA Password SecurityCAPEC-402
- Buffer Overflow via Symbolic LinksCAPEC-45likelihood: High · High
ATT&CK techniques
- Data from Local SystemT1005
- Query RegistryT1012
- File and Directory DiscoveryT1083
- Access Token Manipulation:Token Impersonation/TheftT1134.001
- Use Alternate Authentication Material:Web Session CookieT1550.004
- Unsecured Credentials: Credentials in RegistryT1552.002
- Impair Defenses:Impair Command History LoggingT1562.003
- Data Manipulation: Transmitted Data ManipulationT1565.002
- Hijack Execution Flow: Executable Installer File Permissions WeaknessT1574.005
- Hijack Execution Flow:Dynamic Linker HijackingT1574.006
- Hijack Execution Flow:Path Interception by PATH Environment VariableT1574.007
- Hijack Execution Flow: ServicesFile Permissions WeaknessT1574.010
Change log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
Show all references (5 more)Show less
- bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2019-3842
- lists.apache.org/thread.html/r58af02e294bd07f487e2c64ffc0a29b837db5600e33b6e698b9d696b%40%3Cissues.bookkeeper.apache.org%3E
- lists.apache.org/thread.html/rf4c02775860db415b4955778a131c2795223f61cb8c6a450893651e4%40%3Cissues.bookkeeper.apache.org%3E
- lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/04/msg00022.html
- lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/STR36RJE4ZZIORMDXRERVBHMPRNRTHAC/
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.