VDB-150457 · CVE-2019-20044 · DLA 2117-1

zsh up to 5.7 setuid MODULE_PATH dropped privileges

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
7.4	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in zsh up to 5.7. Affected is the function setuid. This manipulation of the argument MODULE_PATH with the input /dir/with/module causes dropped privileges. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2019-20044. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. No exploit exists. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in zsh up to 5.7 and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function setuid. The manipulation of the argument MODULE_PATH with the input value /dir/with/module leads to a dropped privileges vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-273. The product attempts to drop privileges but does not check or incorrectly checks to see if the drop succeeded. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In Zsh before 5.8, attackers able to execute commands can regain privileges dropped by the --no-PRIVILEGED option. Zsh fails to overwrite the saved uid, so the original privileges can be restored by executing MODULE_PATH=/dir/with/module zmodload with a module that calls setuid().

The weakness was disclosed 02/24/2020. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2019-20044 since 12/27/2019. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. Required for exploitation is a single authentication. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1068 for this issue.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 236595 (Alibaba Cloud Linux 3 : 0073: zsh (ALINUX3-SA-2022:0073)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.8 eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Tenable (236595). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Name

Version

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 7.6
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.4

VulDB Base Score: 6.3
VulDB Temp Score: 6.0
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 8.8
NVD Vector: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
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💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
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Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
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Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Dropped privileges
CWE: CWE-273 / CWE-266
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Nessus ID: 236595
Nessus Name: Alibaba Cloud Linux 3 : 0073: zsh (ALINUX3-SA-2022:0073)

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍

Upgrade: zsh 5.8

Timelineinfo

12/27/2019 🔍
02/24/2020 +59 days 🔍
02/25/2020 +1 days 🔍
05/20/2025 +1911 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Advisory: DLA 2117-1
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2019-20044 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2019-20044
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-150457

Entryinfo

Created: 02/25/2020 08:50
Updated: 05/20/2025 18:58
Changes: 02/25/2020 08:50 (39), 02/25/2020 08:55 (17), 04/02/2024 13:44 (19), 04/02/2024 13:50 (1), 05/20/2025 18:58 (4)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.