Qualys discovered that needrestart, before version 3.8, allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code as root by tricking needrestart int
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: 7.8% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 94.6% 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 tricking needrestart into running the Ruby interpreter with an attacker-controlled RUBYLIB environment variable.
- Published
- Nov 19, 2024
- Updated
- Jun 17, 2026
- EPSS
- 7.9% · 95th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-427
Report tools
Action score
33
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 31 / 40 · 7.8 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 2 / 30 · 7.9%
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.
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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 |
|---|---|---|
| needrestart project | needrestart | cpe:2.3:a:needrestart_project:needrestart |
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
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
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:11 | needrestart | before 3.5-4+deb11u4 | 3.5-4+deb11u4 |
| Debian:12 | needrestart | before 3.6-4+deb12u2 | 3.6-4+deb12u2 |
| Debian:13 | needrestart | before 3.7-3.1 | 3.7-3.1 |
Same product
needrestart project: all recordsOther 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 int37Monitor
- CVE-2024-11003Qualys discovered that needrestart, before version 3.8, passes unsanitized data to a library (Modules::ScanDeps) which expects safe input.35Monitor
- CVE-2024-48991Qualys discovered that needrestart, before version 3.8, allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code as root by winning a race condition33Monitor
- CVE-2022-30688needrestart 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 / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| needrestart needrestart | 3.8 | Vendor (CNA) |
| debian:needrestart | 3.6-4+deb12u2 · Debian:12 | Package 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.
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.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
- Qualysfinder
- Thomas Liskeremediation developer
- Mark Eslercoordinator
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
- CVE-2024-489900 days apartQualys discovered that needrestart, before version 3.8, allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code as root by tricking needrestart int37Monitor
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).
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-427 · Uncontrolled Search Path ElementCVSS 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.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
ATT&CK techniques
- Hijack Execution Flow:DLL search order hijackingT1574.001
- Hijack Execution Flow: Dylib HijackingT1574.004
- Hijack Execution Flow: Path Interception by PATH Environment VariableT1574.007
- Hijack Execution Flow: Path Interception by Search Order HijackingT1574.008
- Hijack Execution Flow: Path Interception by Unquoted PathT1574.009
Change log
- Fix✗ → ✓
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References
Show all references (5 more)Show less
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.