CVE-2014-8169: automount 5.0.8, when a program map uses certain interpreted languages, uses the calling user's USER and HO...

Security readout for executives and security teams

This is a local privilege-escalation issue in automount 5.0.8. In certain program map configurations, automount may use the calling user's USER and HOME values when running mapped programs. That can let a local user influence where privileged execution looks for supporting files. Exposure is most likely on Linux systems running affected automount/autofs packages with program maps that invoke interpreted languages. The bundle names automount 5.0.8 and includes Ubuntu, Red Hat, Oracle Linux, and openSUSE advisories, but affected versions must be confirmed from vendor guidance. Treat this as a targeted operational risk for multi-user Linux environments, not an internet-scale emergency. Prioritize patching shared servers, development hosts, and systems using automount program maps. Mitigation focus: Apply the relevant vendor automount/autofs security update.; Check vendor advisories for fixed package versions.; Review automount program maps using interpreted languages..

Prepared

Jun 13, 2026, 22:56 UTC (UTC+00:00)

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