CVE-2021-3156

HIGHScheduled

Published:Jan 26, 2021(5 years ago)

Modified:Nov 10, 2025

Local AccessNo InteractionLow Complexity

Vulnerability Description

Sudo before 1.9.5p2 contains an off-by-one error that can result in a heap-based buffer overflow, which allows privilege escalation to root via "sudoedit -s" and a command-line argument that ends with a single backslash character.

Attack Characteristics

Local AccessLow ComplexityLow PrivilegesNo User Interaction

🤖

AI analysis not yet available

Plain-English explanation, risk summary, and remediation steps will appear here once AI analysis is complete.

No Fix Known

No patch has been released yet. Apply workarounds or mitigations where available.

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions	Fixed In
sudo_project	sudo	1.8.2 - 1.8.32	-
sudo_project	sudo	1.9.0 - 1.9.5	-
sudo_project	sudo	-

Timeline

Published
CVE disclosed publicly
Jan 26, 20215 years ago
Last Modified
Most recent update
Nov 10, 20256 months ago
Indexed to CVEInsight
Added to this platform
Mar 29, 20261 month ago

References

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/161160/Sudo-Heap-Based-Buffer-Ove...Exploit
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/161230/Sudo-Buffer-Overflow-Privi...Exploit
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/161270/Sudo-1.9.5p1-Buffer-Overfl...Exploit

CVSS Score

v3.1

7.8/ 10.0

HIGH

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

At a Glance

Affected Products

References

sudo_project / sudo

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/161293/Sudo-1.8.31p2-1.9.5p1-Buff...Exploit

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/176932/glibc-syslog-Heap-Based-Bu...Exploit

http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2021/Feb/42Mailing List

http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2021/Jan/79Exploit

http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2024/Feb/3Exploit

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/01/26/3Exploit

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/01/27/1Mailing List

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/01/27/2Mailing List

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/02/15/1Exploit

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/09/14/2Mailing List

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/01/30/6Exploit

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/01/30/8Mailing List

https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=SB10348Broken Link

https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/01/msg00022.htmlMailing List

https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists...Mailing List

https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202101-33Third Party Advisory

https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210128-0001/Third Party Advisory

https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210128-0002/Third Party Advisory

https://support.apple.com/kb/HT212177Third Party Advisory

https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/...Third Party Advisory

https://www.beyondtrust.com/blog/entry/security-advisory-privilege-man...Third Party Advisory

https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4839Third Party Advisory

https://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/794544Third Party Advisory

https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/01/26/3Exploit

https://www.oracle.com//security-alerts/cpujul2021.htmlPatch

https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.htmlPatch

https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2021.htmlPatch

https://www.sudo.ws/stable.html#1.9.5p2Release Notes

https://www.synology.com/security/advisory/Synology_SA_21_02Third Party Advisory

https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/sudoedit-pwned-cve-2021-3156Exploit

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/161160/Sudo-Heap-Based-Buffer-Ove...Exploit

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/161230/Sudo-Buffer-Overflow-Privi...Exploit

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/161270/Sudo-1.9.5p1-Buffer-Overfl...Exploit