CVE-2019-19234

What it is

In Sudo through 1.8.29, the fact that a user has been blocked (e.g., by using the ! character in the shadow file instead of a password hash) is not considered, allowing an attacker (who has access to a Runas ALL sudoer account) to impersonate any blocked user. NOTE: The software maintainer believes that this CVE is not valid. Disabling local password authentication for a user is not the same as disabling all access to that user--the user may still be able to login via other means (ssh key, kerberos, etc). Both the Linux shadow(5) and passwd(1) manuals are clear on this. Indeed it is a valid use case to have local accounts that are _only_ accessible via sudo and that cannot be logged into with a password. Sudo 1.8.30 added an optional setting to check the _shell_ of the target user (not the encrypted password!) against the contents of /etc/shells but that is not the same thing as preventing access to users with an invalid password hash

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited over the network without logging in. High risk of data tampering.

Exploit odds

3.2% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2019-12-19 21:15 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-06-17 02:26 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 3.2% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 7.5 HIGH (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2019-12-19 21:15 UTC

Last modified

2026-06-17 02:26 UTC

Exploit probability

3.2% · EPSS, next 30 days

Record status

Modified

Affected

• Sudo ≤ 1.8.29

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 7.5

Attack vector

Network

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

None

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

High

Availability

None

Is it in your code?

Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.

Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2019-19234.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2019-19234. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.

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