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Openbsd CVE-2019-19726

HIGH
Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269)
2019-12-12 cve@mitre.org
7.8
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Least privilege enforcement
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction not required. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A local attacker with access to the system could escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: Active threat signals + CRITICAL/HIGH severity.
Patch available 3.5% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

OpenBSD through 6.6 allows local users to escalate to root because a check for LD_LIBRARY_PATH in setuid programs can be defeated by setting a very small RLIMIT_DATA resource limit. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Apply principle of least privilege, validate privilege transitions, implement proper role separation.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269), which allows attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access. OpenBSD through 6.6 allows local users to escalate to root because a check for LD_LIBRARY_PATH in setuid programs can be defeated by setting a very small RLIMIT_DATA resource limit. When executing chpass or passwd (which are setuid root), _dl_setup_env in ld.so tries to strip LD_LIBRARY_PATH from the environment, but fails when it cannot allocate memory. Thus, the attacker is able to execute their own library code as root. Affected products include: Openbsd. Version information: through 6.6.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.8 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionNVD

OpenBSD through 6.6 allows local users to escalate to root because a check for LD_LIBRARY_PATH in setuid programs can be defeated by setting a very small RLIMIT_DATA resource limit. When executing chpass or passwd (which are setuid root), _dl_setup_env in ld.so tries to strip LD_LIBRARY_PATH from the environment, but fails when it cannot allocate memory. Thus, the attacker is able to execute their own library code as root.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
3.5%
Top 12% exploitable
Exploit
POC
Public exploit code exists
Data Quality
4 sources
Confidence: Medium

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC Yes
EPSS 3.5%
Patch available Yes
Active threat Yes
Deciding rule
Active threat signals + CRITICAL/HIGH severity
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Out-of-Cycle
Exploitation· derived
Active
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
High

Priority Score

78
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +4
CVSS: +39
PoC: +20
Weaponized: +15
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:o:openbsd:openbsd:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2023-38408 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Jul 20

The PKCS#11 feature in ssh-agent in OpenSSH before 9.3p2 has an insufficiently trustworthy search path, leading to remot

CVE-2023-25136 MEDIUM POC
6.5 Feb 03

OpenSSH server (sshd) 9.1 introduced a double-free vulnerability during options.kex_algorithms handling. Rated medium se

CVE-2016-6210 MEDIUM POC
5.9 Feb 13

sshd in OpenSSH before 7.3, when SHA256 or SHA512 are used for user password hashing, uses BLOWFISH hashing on a static

CVE-2015-5600 HIGH POC
8.1 Aug 03

The kbdint_next_device function in auth2-chall.c in sshd in OpenSSH through 6.9 does not properly restrict the processin

CVE-2016-6515 HIGH POC
7.5 Aug 07

The auth_password function in auth-passwd.c in sshd in OpenSSH before 7.3 does not limit password lengths for password a

CVE-2024-6387 HIGH POC
8.1 Jul 01

Remote code execution in OpenSSH's sshd server (regression of CVE-2006-5051) allows unauthenticated remote attackers to

CVE-2019-6111 MEDIUM POC
5.9 Jan 31

An issue was discovered in OpenSSH 7.9. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no

CVE-2017-5850 HIGH POC
7.5 Mar 27

httpd in OpenBSD allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) via a series of requests for

CVE-2025-26465 MEDIUM
6.8 Feb 18

A vulnerability was found in OpenSSH when the VerifyHostKeyDNS option is enabled. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this

CVE-2023-48795 MEDIUM POC
5.9 Dec 18

The SSH transport protocol with certain OpenSSH extensions, found in OpenSSH before 9.6 and other products, allows remot

CVE-2016-0777 MEDIUM
6.5 Jan 14

The resend_bytes function in roaming_common.c in the client in OpenSSH 5.x, 6.x, and 7.x before 7.1p2 allows remote serv

CVE-2016-3115 MEDIUM POC
6.4 Mar 22

Multiple CRLF injection vulnerabilities in session.c in sshd in OpenSSH before 7.2p2 allow remote authenticated users to

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