Linux · Kernel
CVE-2019-13272
Linux Kernel Improper Privilege Management Vulnerability
What it is
In the Linux kernel before 5.1.17, ptrace_link in kernel/ptrace.c mishandles the recording of the credentials of a process that wants to create a ptrace relationship, which allows local users to obtain root access by leveraging certain scenarios with a parent-child process relationship, where a parent drops privileges and calls execve (potentially allowing control by an attacker). One contributing factor is an object lifetime issue (which can also cause a panic). Another contributing factor is incorrect marking of a ptrace relationship as privileged, which is exploitable through (for example) Polkit's pkexec helper with PTRACE_TRACEME. NOTE: SELinux deny_ptrace might be a usable workaround in some environments.
CISA: Kernel/ptrace.c in Linux kernel mishandles contains an improper privilege management vulnerability that allows local users to obtain root access.
What to do
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Deadline for US federal agencies: June 10, 2022
- Added to the CISA list
- December 10, 2021
- Published
- July 17, 2019
- Severity
- High 7.8 CVSS 3.1
- Chance of attacks in the next 30 days (EPSS)
- 52% in the top 1.0% of all known vulnerabilities
- Weakness
- CWE-269
- More details
- NVD · CVE.org · CISA
All references (20)
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/OGRK5LYWBJ4E…
- https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4484
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2405
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2411
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4093-1/
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4094-1/
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4095-1/
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/153663/Linux-PTRACE_TRACEME-Broken-Permission-Object-Lifetime-Handling.h…
- https://bugs.chromium.org/p/project-zero/issues/detail?id=1903
- https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.1.17
- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/6994eefb0053799d2e07cd140df6c2ea106c41ee
- https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=6994eefb0053799d2e07cd140df6c2ea10…
- https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1140671
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1730895
- https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Jul/30
- https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Jul/33
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/07/msg00022.html
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/07/msg00023.html
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/153702/Slackware-Security-Advisory-Slackware-14.2-kernel-Updates.html
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190806-0001/
More exploited flaws from Linux
| Added | Vulnerability | Product | Severity | Attack chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 18, 2026 | Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions | Kernel | Critical 9.8 | 3.3% |
| Sep 18, 2026 | Race Condition | Kernel | High 7.8 | 1.6% |
| Sep 18, 2026 | Out-of-Bounds Write | Kernel | High 8.8 | 0.9% |
| Aug 27, 2026 | Unspecified | Kernel | High 7.8 | 0.7% |
| Aug 26, 2026 | Out-of-Bounds Write | Kernel | High 7.8 | 8.9% |
| Jun 2, 2026 | Improper Authentication | Kernel | High 7.8 | 5.5% |
| May 1, 2026 | Incorrect Resource Transfer Between Spheres | Kernel | High 7.8 | 98% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | Integer Overflow | Kernel | High 7.8 | 15% |
Sources: Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (CISA, public domain), CVE records (cve.org) and EPSS (FIRST). The chance of attacks is the EPSS estimate that someone will try to exploit the flaw in the next 30 days.