LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2019-19882: shadow 4.8, in certain circumstances affecting at least Gentoo, Arch Linux, and Void Linux, allows local us...

shadow 4.8, in certain circumstances affecting at least Gentoo, Arch Linux, and Void Linux, allows local users to obtain root access because setuid programs are misconfigured. Specifically, this affects shadow 4.8 when compiled using --with-libpam but without explicitly passing --disable-account-tools-setuid, and without a PAM configuration suitable for use with setuid account management tools. This combination leads to account management tools (groupadd, groupdel, groupmod, useradd, userdel, usermod) that can easily be used by unprivileged local users to escalate privileges to root in multiple ways. This issue became much more relevant in approximately December 2019 when an unrelated bug was fixed (i.e., the chmod calls to suidusbins were fixed in the upstream Makefile which is now included in the release version 4.8).

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2019-19882 is a local privilege escalation issue in shadow 4.8. Under a specific build and PAM configuration, normal local users could abuse account-management programs to gain root. Business urgency depends on whether affected Linux systems allow local shell access or run untrusted workloads.

Executive priority

Prioritize remediation on shared Linux systems and any host where non-admin users can execute local programs. The impact is root compromise after local access, but the evidence does not show active exploitation or broad remote exposure.

Technical view

The issue affects shadow 4.8 when built with --with-libpam, without --disable-account-tools-setuid, and without suitable PAM configuration for setuid account tools. The affected utilities include groupadd, groupdel, groupmod, useradd, userdel, and usermod. Public sources mention Gentoo, Arch Linux, and Void Linux circumstances.

Likely exposure

Likely exposure is limited to Linux systems using shadow 4.8 with the vulnerable build and PAM configuration. The CVE names circumstances affecting at least Gentoo, Arch Linux, and Void Linux. Generic Linux exposure should not be assumed without confirming package version, build flags, and setuid state.

Exploitation context

The source bundle says unprivileged local users could escalate to root in multiple ways, but it provides no KEV listing and no cited evidence of active exploitation. Treat this as a serious local post-access risk, not a remotely exploitable internet-facing flaw.

Researcher notes

Focus on reproducing exposure conditions, not only package name. The decisive factors are shadow 4.8, PAM-enabled build, missing --disable-account-tools-setuid, setuid account tools, and PAM configuration suitability. Source evidence is distro-specific and incomplete for other environments.

Mitigation direction

  • Identify systems using shadow 4.8, especially Gentoo, Arch Linux, and Void Linux hosts.
  • Apply vendor-provided shadow package updates or advisory guidance where available.
  • Avoid the vulnerable build combination described in the CVE when compiling shadow.
  • Review setuid status of account-management tools against vendor guidance.
  • Restrict local shell access on exposed multi-user systems until remediated.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory installed shadow versions across Linux hosts.
  • Confirm whether affected systems use distro packages or custom shadow builds.
  • Check whether account tools are setuid only where vendor guidance requires it.
  • Review PAM configuration suitability for setuid account-management tools.
  • Prioritize validation on multi-user servers and shared workload hosts.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
8

Public sources used

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

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2019-19882 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
7Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.