CVE-2021-23239

Name: CVE-2021-23239
Creator: NVD / NIST
Published: 2021-01-12T09:15:14.043+00:00
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

LOWCVSS 2.5/10EPSS 1.03%

Last modified Jun 17, 2026

CVE-2021-23239 is a low-severity vulnerability rated 2.5/10 on the CVSS scale. 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.. EPSS estimates a 1.03% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

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.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

2.5/10

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

EPSS Probability

1.03%

59.3th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-59

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Sudo Project	Sudo	< 1.8.32
Sudo Project	Sudo	>= 1.9.0, < 1.9.5
Netapp	Cloud Backup	All versions
Netapp	Hci Management Node	All versions
Netapp	Solidfire	All versions
Fedoraproject	Fedora	32
Fedoraproject	Fedora	33
Debian	Debian Linux	10.0

References

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://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/EE42Y35SMJOLONAIBNYNFC7J44UUZ2Y6/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/GMY4VSSBIND7VAYSN6T7XIWJRWG4GBB3/
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://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/EE42Y35SMJOLONAIBNYNFC7J44UUZ2Y6/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/GMY4VSSBIND7VAYSN6T7XIWJRWG4GBB3/
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

Timeline

Published: Jan 12, 2021
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-23239?

How severe is CVE-2021-23239?

CVE-2021-23239 has a CVSS score of 2.5/10 (LOW severity). The EPSS model estimates a 1.03% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2021-23239?

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-2021-23239?

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

Scan your code now

Source: NVD / NIST