CVE-2004-1051: sudo before 1.6.8p2 allows local users to execute arbitrary commands by using "()" style environment variab...

Security readout for executives and security teams

CVE-2004-1051 is an old sudo flaw affecting versions before 1.6.8p2. A local user could influence a bash script run through sudo so that an intended helper command is replaced by a same-named bash function, potentially running commands with elevated privileges. Exposure is most likely on legacy Unix or Linux systems running sudo before 1.6.8p2, especially where sudoers permits users to run bash scripts that call programs by relative name. Modern maintained distributions should generally have long since patched this. Treat this as a legacy hygiene and privilege-escalation issue. It is not flagged as actively exploited in the supplied sources, but unpatched old sudo deployments can turn ordinary local access into higher-impact compromise. Mitigation focus: Upgrade sudo to 1.6.8p2 or later, following vendor guidance.; Apply relevant OS vendor security updates for legacy systems.; Review sudoers entries that permit user-run shell scripts..

Prepared

Jun 30, 2026, 02:24 UTC (UTC+00:00)

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.