LOW
CVE-2021-23239
CWE-59Published: January 12, 2021· Updated: Jun 17, 2026
2.5
CVSS v3.1
Official Description
The sudoedit personality of Sudo before 1.9.5 may allow a local unprivileged user to perform arbitrary directory-existence tests by winning a sudo_edit.c race condition in replacing a user-controlled directory by a symlink to an arbitrary path.
Technical Analysis
CVE-2021-23239 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.
Exploitation requires low privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.
CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown
Exploitability
Attack VectorLocal
Attack ComplexityHigh
Privileges Req.Low
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityLow
IntegrityNone
AvailabilityNone
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
Affected Vendors & Products
Debian1 product(s)
debian linux
Fedora1 product(s)
fedora
netapp3 product(s)
cloud backuphci management nodesolidfire
sudo_project1 product(s)
sudo
Source: NVD CPE · 7 total CPE entries
Exploit & PoC Resources
NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
Exploit-DB
Offensive Security exploit database
GitHub PoC Search
Community PoC repositories
Rapid7 / Metasploit
Metasploit module search
PacketStorm
Security advisories & exploits
NVD Detail
Official NIST entry
MITRE CVE
CVE Program entry
External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.
Official Patches & Advisories
All References (14)
→
https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2021-23239Exploit · Issue Tracking · Third Party Advisory
→
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/11/msg00007.htmlMailing List · Third Party Advisory
→
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202101-33Third Party Advisory
→
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210129-0010/Third Party Advisory
→
https://www.sudo.ws/stable.html#1.9.5Release Notes · Vendor Advisory
→
https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2021-23239Exploit · Issue Tracking · Third Party Advisory
→
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/11/msg00007.htmlMailing List · Third Party Advisory
→
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202101-33Third Party Advisory
→
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210129-0010/Third Party Advisory
→
https://www.sudo.ws/stable.html#1.9.5Release Notes · Vendor Advisory
Quick Facts
CVE IDCVE-2021-23239
CVSS Score2.5 / 10
SeverityLOW
WeaknessCWE-59
CISA KEVNo
Affected4 vendor(s)
PublishedJan 12, 2021
Related CVEs (CWE-59)
Recommended Actions
- →Apply vendor patches immediately
- →Monitor CVE-2021-23239 in threat intel feeds
- →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWatch. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.