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NVD / CVE Program· CNA canonical

CVE-2024-48991: Qualys discovered that needrestart, before version 3.8, allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code as root by winning a race condition…

HighCVSS 7.8 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 33/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 6% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 93.4% of all records.
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: needrestart needrestart 3.8.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to needrestart needrestart 3.8 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

Qualys discovered that needrestart, before version 3.8, allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code as root by winning a race condition and tricking needrestart into running their own, fake Python interpreter (instead of the system's real Python interpreter). The initial security fix (6ce6136) introduced a regression which was subsequently resolved (42af5d3).

Published
Nov 19, 2024
Updated
Jun 17, 2026
EPSS
6.0% · 93th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

33

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
31 / 40 · 7.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
2 / 30 · 6.0%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
total

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
—
CNA · canonical
7.8
NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.

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
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Follow CVE-2024-48991

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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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.

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Affected 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.

VendorProduct
needrestart projectneedrestart

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (canonical). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • needrestart needrestart

    • before 3.8affected · semver

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • needrestart project needrestartbefore 3.8

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:11needrestartbefore 3.5-4+deb11u43.5-4+deb11u4
Debian:12needrestartbefore 3.6-4+deb12u23.6-4+deb12u2
Debian:13needrestartbefore 3.7-3.13.7-3.1

Same product

needrestart project: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2024-48990Qualys discovered that needrestart, before version 3.8, allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code as root by tricking needrestart…
    40Plan
  • CVE-2024-11003Qualys discovered that needrestart, before version 3.8, passes unsanitized data to a library (Modules::ScanDeps) which expects safe input.
    35Monitor
  • CVE-2024-48992Qualys discovered that needrestart, before version 3.8, allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code as root by tricking needrestart…
    33Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2022-30688May 17, 2022 · needrestart 0.8 through 3.5 before 3.6 is prone to local privilege escalation.
    31Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
needrestart needrestart3.8Vendor (CNA)
debian:needrestart3.6-4+deb12u2 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

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.

No dated events beyond publication.

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

Not on record for this CVE: EPSS history · variant or chain candidate · public bounty program.

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.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

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
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-362 · Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-secondary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

ATT&CK techniques

—

References

Show all references (7 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records