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What is CVE-2023-22809?A high-severity flaw in Sudo, explained.

High severity4 affected products
The short answer

CVE-2023-22809 is a high-severity flaw (CVSS 7.8) in Sudo from Sudo Project, published on 18 January 2023. It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts its chance of use in the next 30 days at 55%. If you run an affected version, plan in the vendor’s fix.

Check if it affects you →How to fix it

Published 18 January 2023. Record last updated 4 April 2025. We keep this page's data up to date.

What it does

What is CVE-2023-22809? In plain terms.

An attacker has to be already on the device with an ordinary user account, and nobody has to click anything. If it works, the attacker can read data, change data and take it offline.

The official description

In Sudo before 1.9.12p2, the sudoedit (aka -e) feature mishandles extra arguments passed in the user-provided environment variables (SUDO_EDITOR, VISUAL, and EDITOR), allowing a local attacker to append arbitrary entries to the list of files to process. This can lead to privilege escalation. Affected versions are 1.8.0 through 1.9.12.p1. The problem exists because a user-specified editor may contain a "--" argument that defeats a protection mechanism, e.g., an EDITOR='vim -- /path/to/extra/file' value.

What kind of flaw is it?

  • CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
CVSS 3.1 scoreHigh · 7.8

How an attack on it works

Read straight from its severity rating, translated out of the shorthand.

  • Where an attacker can beAlready on the device
  • How hard it is to pull offEasy: no special conditions
  • Login needed firstAn ordinary user account
  • Does someone have to clickNo, nobody has to do anything
  • What an attacker getsCan read data, change data and take it offline

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

Exploitation

Is CVE-2023-22809 being exploited? Not that we know of.

It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts the chance of it being used in the next 30 days at 55%. That can change at any time, which is why we keep watching.

Known to be exploitedNoNot on the list of exploited flaws today
Chance of use in the next 30 days55%Its EPSS score, from the latest forecast

Timeline

  1. Published
  2. Record last updated
  3. Exploit likelihood fell
  4. Exploit likelihood jumped
How Precursor Intelligence ranks it
49out of 100Medium

CVE-2023-22809 scores 49. Action: Plan remediation.

We keep the score of every published flaw up to date as the evidence changes. Four things go into the score, and evidence that criminals are actually using it counts most. In order:

  • Evidence it is being exploitedBiggest factor
  • How severe it isStrong factor
  • How widely exposed it isSmaller factor
  • Threat activity around itSmaller factor

85 and above is Critical. Anything confirmed as exploited is always marked for an emergency patch, whatever its score.

When CVE-2023-22809 matches software you track, it lands in your list with its score and the reasons behind it.

See your own ranked list →
Affected products

Who is affected by CVE-2023-22809? 4 products.

The published record lists 4 products from 4 vendors. Versions are shown as published: "1.8.0 to before 1.9.12" means from 1.8.0 up to, but not including, 1.9.12. If you run one of these, check your version, then go to the fix below.

Remediation

How do I fix CVE-2023-22809? Four steps.

  1. Check whether you run itCompare your versions with the affected products above. Not sure what you run? Precursor Intelligence can work it out from your public website, or you can pick it from a list.
  2. Apply the vendor’s fixInstall the update named in the vendor’s advisory. We’ve put the advisories and patch notes first in the list.
  3. If you can’t patch todayFollow any mitigation the vendor publishes, and limit who can reach the affected system from the internet until the update is in.
  4. Keep an eye on itTrack the product and we tell you as soon as we spot this flaw on the list of exploited flaws, or a jump in its exploit likelihood.

References

14 links
Precursor Intelligence

Does CVE-2023-22809 affect you? We'll keep checking.

Looking flaws up one at a time doesn't scale. Tell us what you run once, and we tell you which flaws matter to you, in what order, and keep watching for new ones.

  1. Tell us what you runPick your software from a list, or let us work it out from your website.
  2. We match it to every flawOver 400,000 published flaws, checked against your list.
  3. Ranked by real-world riskA 0 to 100 score, led by evidence criminals are using it.
  4. Told as soon as we knowAn alert by email, in the app or by webhook to your own tools.
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CVE-2023-22809 is a high-severity flaw in Sudo from Sudo Project, published on 18 January 2023. An attacker has to be already on the device with an ordinary user account, and nobody has to click anything. If it works, the attacker can read data, change data and take it offline.

It scores 7.8 out of 10 on the CVSS severity scale, which is high. Our risk score for CVE-2023-22809 is 49 out of 100, which is Medium. Its action is "Plan remediation". Not confirmed as exploited yet, but serious or likely enough that it should not wait for a quiet month.

It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts the chance of it being used in the next 30 days at 55%. That can change at any time, which is why we keep watching.

For Sudo from Sudo Project: 1.8.0 to before 1.9.12, 1.9.12, 1.9.12-p1. The record lists 4 products in all, each with its versions, under "Who is affected" on this page.

Install the update the vendor names in its advisory, linked first under "How do I fix" on this page. If you can't patch today, follow the vendor's mitigation and limit who can reach the affected system from the internet.

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