Sudo: Stack-Based Buffer Overflow (CVE-2019-18634)
Published Sources: CVE.org
What is affected, what to do
In Sudo before 1.8.26, if pwfeedback is enabled in /etc/sudoers, users can trigger a stack-based buffer overflow in the privileged sudo process. (pwfeedback is a default setting in Linux Mint and elementary OS; however, it is NOT the default for upstream and many other packages, and would exist only if enabled by an administrator.) The attacker needs to deliver a long string to the stdin of getln() in tgetpass.c.
An exploit is publicly available. Update Sudo to version 1.8.26.
- Affected
- Sudo
lt 1.7.1..1.8.26 - Debian Linux
eq 8.0..8.0 - Debian Linux
eq 9.0..9.0 - Debian Linux
eq 10.0..10.0
- Sudo
- Fixed in
- Sudo
1.8.26
- Sudo
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Metrics
7.8
Priority
XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.
Source: NVD, CVSS v3
7.8
CVSS v3
Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.
Source: CVE.org
19.3 %
EPSS score
Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.
Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 97.3
Show all metrics
- Severity
- High
Priority (0–325)
The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?
Read in glossary- 114.80 Methodology
Exploit maturity
An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.
Read in glossary- PoC (publicly reported)
XIEM Effective CVSS
XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.
Read in glossary- 7.8 Methodology
CVSS v3
CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.
Read in glossary- 7.8
EPSS score
The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.
Read in glossary- 19.3 %
- Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.
EPSS percentile
The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.
Read in glossary- 97.3
- Critical — this CVE ranks in the top fifth of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 80%).
KEV status
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- —
- Published
Detection rules
No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.
Classification under NIS2 and CRA
Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
NIS2
NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.
Read in glossary- High technical severity: assess and remediate the vulnerability in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2 and document the decision.
CRA
The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.
Read in glossary- From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.
Read in glossary- Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.
Description
In Sudo before 1.8.26, if pwfeedback is enabled in /etc/sudoers, users can trigger a stack-based buffer overflow in the privileged sudo process. (pwfeedback is a default setting in Linux Mint and elementary OS; however, it is NOT the default for upstream and many other packages, and would exist only if enabled by an administrator.) The attacker needs to deliver a long string to the stdin of getln() in tgetpass.c.
Source: NVD (NIST), cvelistv5
Affected products
The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.
| Affected versions | Fixed in | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| sudo_project | sudo |
|
|
Vendors and products
Affected operating systems
| Linux | debian | debian_linux | 10.0 |
| Linux | debian | debian_linux | 8.0 |
| Linux | debian | debian_linux | 9.0 |
Public exploit references
Publicly reported proof-of-concepts, exploit modules and detection templates for this vulnerability. NEOSEC links to the original sources only and does not provide any exploit code.
| Reference tagged as exploit | openwall.com (opens in a new tab) | PoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified | — |
| Packet Storm | Slackware Security Advisory sudo Updates (opens in a new tab)packetstormsecurity.com | PoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified | — |
| Packet Storm | Sudo 1.8.25p Buffer Overflow (opens in a new tab)packetstormsecurity.com | PoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified | — |
| PoC-in-GitHub (nomi-sec) | thm-cybersec-portfolio (opens in a new tab)github.com | PoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified |
References & sources
- support.apple.comkb/HT210919x_refsource_CONFIRM, Third-party advisory
- seclists.org20200129 APPLE-SA-2020-1-28-2 macOS Catalina 10.15.3, Security Update 2020-001 Mojave, Security Update 2020-001 High SierraMailing list, x_refsource_BUGTRAQ, Mailing list, Third-party advisory
- sudo.wssecurity.htmlx_refsource_MISC, Vendor advisory
- sudo.wsalerts/pwfeedback.htmlx_refsource_CONFIRM, Exploit, Vendor advisory
- openwall.com[oss-security] 20200130 CVE-2019-18634: buffer overflow in sudo when pwfeedback is enabledMailing list, x_refsource_MLIST, Mailing list, Third-party advisory
- openwall.com[oss-security] 20200131 Re: CVE-2019-18634: buffer overflow in sudo when pwfeedback is enabledMailing list, x_refsource_MLIST, Mailing list, Third-party advisory
- seclists.org20200131 APPLE-SA-2020-1-28-2 macOS Catalina 10.15.3, Security Update 2020-001 Mojave, Security Update 2020-001 High SierraMailing list, x_refsource_FULLDISC, Mailing list, Third-party advisory
- debian.orgDSA-4614Vendor advisory, x_refsource_DEBIAN, Third-party advisory
- lists.debian.org[debian-lts-announce] 20200201 [SECURITY] [DLA 2094-1] sudo security updateMailing list, x_refsource_MLIST, Mailing list, Third-party advisory
- seclists.org20200203 [slackware-security] sudo (SSA:2020-031-01)Mailing list, x_refsource_BUGTRAQ, Mailing list, Third-party advisory
- seclists.org20200203 [SECURITY] [DSA 4614-1] sudo security updateMailing list, x_refsource_BUGTRAQ, Mailing list, Third-party advisory
- packetstormsecurity.comfiles/156174/Slackware-Security-Advisory-sudo-Updates.htmlx_refsource_MISC, Third-party advisory, Vulnerability database
- packetstormsecurity.comfiles/156189/Sudo-1.8.25p-Buffer-Overflow.htmlx_refsource_MISC, Third-party advisory, Vulnerability database
- openwall.com[oss-security] 20200205 Re: CVE-2019-18634: buffer overflow in sudo when pwfeedback is enabledMailing list, x_refsource_MLIST, Third-party advisory
- openwall.com[oss-security] 20200205 Re: CVE-2019-18634: buffer overflow in sudo when pwfeedback is enabledMailing list, x_refsource_MLIST, Exploit, Third-party advisory
- usn.ubuntu.comUSN-4263-1Vendor advisory, x_refsource_UBUNTU
- security.netapp.comadvisory/ntap-20200210-0001x_refsource_CONFIRM
- usn.ubuntu.comUSN-4263-2Vendor advisory, x_refsource_UBUNTU
- access.redhat.comRHSA-2020:0487Vendor advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- access.redhat.comRHSA-2020:0509Vendor advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
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<a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2019-18634"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2019-18634.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2019-18634 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>