CVE-2019-19882

Name: CVE-2019-19882
Creator: NVD / NIST
Published: 2019-12-18T16:15:26.963+00:00
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

HIGHCVSS 7.8/10EPSS 0.50%

Last modified Jun 17, 2026

CVE-2019-19882 is a high-severity vulnerability rated 7.8/10 on the CVSS scale. shadow 4.8, in certain circumstances affecting at least Gentoo, Arch Linux, and Void Linux, allows local users to obtain root access because setuid programs are misconfigured. Specifically, this affects shadow 4.8 when compiled using --with-libpam but without explicitly passing --disable-account-tools-setuid, and without a PAM configuration suitable for use with setuid account management tools. EPSS estimates a 0.50% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

shadow 4.8, in certain circumstances affecting at least Gentoo, Arch Linux, and Void Linux, allows local users to obtain root access because setuid programs are misconfigured. Specifically, this affects shadow 4.8 when compiled using --with-libpam but without explicitly passing --disable-account-tools-setuid, and without a PAM configuration suitable for use with setuid account management tools. This combination leads to account management tools (groupadd, groupdel, groupmod, useradd, userdel, usermod) that can easily be used by unprivileged local users to escalate privileges to root in multiple ways. This issue became much more relevant in approximately December 2019 when an unrelated bug was fixed (i.e., the chmod calls to suidusbins were fixed in the upstream Makefile which is now included in the release version 4.8).

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

7.8/10

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

EPSS Probability

0.50%

38.7th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-732

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Shadow Project	Shadow	4.8

References

https://bugs.archlinux.org/task/64836Exploit, Third Party Advisory
https://bugs.gentoo.org/702252Exploit, Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/shadow-maint/shadow/commit/edf7547ad5aa650be868cf2dac58944773c12d75Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/shadow-maint/shadow/pull/199Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/void-linux/void-packages/pull/17580Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202008-09
https://bugs.archlinux.org/task/64836Exploit, Third Party Advisory
https://bugs.gentoo.org/702252Exploit, Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/shadow-maint/shadow/commit/edf7547ad5aa650be868cf2dac58944773c12d75Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/shadow-maint/shadow/pull/199Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/void-linux/void-packages/pull/17580Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202008-09

Timeline

Published: Dec 18, 2019
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2019-19882?

How severe is CVE-2019-19882?

CVE-2019-19882 has a CVSS score of 7.8/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.50% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2019-19882?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2019-19882?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

Scan your code now

Source: NVD / NIST