sudo up to 1.9.17p2 setuid/setgid/setgroups privilege dropping
| CVSS Meta Temp Score | Current Exploit Price (≈) | CTI Interest Score |
|---|---|---|
| 7.1 | $0-$5k | 0.34 |
Summary
A vulnerability was found in sudo up to 1.9.17p2. It has been declared as critical. This affects an unknown part of the component setuid/setgid/setgroups. Executing a manipulation can lead to privilege dropping. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2026-35535. The attack needs to be launched locally. No exploit is available. It is advisable to implement a patch to correct this issue.
Details
A vulnerability classified as critical was found in sudo up to 1.9.17p2. This vulnerability affects some unknown processing of the component setuid/setgid/setgroups. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a privilege dropping vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-271. The product does not drop privileges before passing control of a resource to an actor that does not have those privileges. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:
In Sudo through 1.9.17p2 before 3e474c2, a failure of a setuid, setgid, or setgroups call, during a privilege drop before running the mailer, is not a fatal error and can lead to privilege escalation.
The advisory is shared for download at github.com. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-35535 since 04/03/2026. The exploitation appears to be difficult. The attack needs to be approached locally. There are neither technical details nor an exploit publicly available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 04/05/2026). The MITRE ATT&CK project declares the attack technique as T1068.
The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 304901 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-35535), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.
Applying the patch 3e474c2f201484be83d994ae10a4e20e8c81bb69 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at github.com.
The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Tenable (304901). Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Product
Type
Name
Version
License
CPE 2.3
CPE 2.2
CVSSv4
VulDB Vector: 🔒VulDB Reliability: 🔍
CVSSv3
VulDB Meta Base Score: 7.2VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.1
VulDB Base Score: 7.0
VulDB Temp Score: 6.7
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍
CNA Base Score: 7.4
CNA Vector (MITRE): 🔒
CVSSv2
| AV | AC | Au | C | I | A |
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| 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 |
| 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 |
| 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 |
| Vector | Complexity | Authentication | Confidentiality | Integrity | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock |
| Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock |
| Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock |
VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍
Exploiting
Class: Privilege droppingCWE: CWE-271 / CWE-270 / CWE-266
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒
Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No
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: 304901
Nessus Name: Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-35535
Threat Intelligence
Interest: 🔍Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍
Countermeasures
Recommended: PatchStatus: 🔍
0-Day Time: 🔒
Patch: 3e474c2f201484be83d994ae10a4e20e8c81bb69
Timeline
04/03/2026 Advisory disclosed04/03/2026 CVE reserved
04/03/2026 VulDB entry created
04/05/2026 VulDB entry last update
Sources
Advisory: 3e474c2f201484be83d994ae10a4e20e8c81bb69Status: Confirmed
CVE: CVE-2026-35535 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-35535
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-355060
Entry
Created: 04/03/2026 07:47Updated: 04/05/2026 10:30
Changes: 04/03/2026 07:47 (65), 04/05/2026 10:30 (2)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
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