CVE Database›Document archive›CVE-2019-20044

CVE-2019-20044

zsh: insecure dropping of privileges when unsetting PRIVILEGED option

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Severity

Important

Red Hat Product Security

7.8

CVSS 3.1

Review impact separately from score.

Published · February 16, 2020

Updated · November 22, 2025

Description

A flaw was found in zsh. When unsetting the PRIVILEGED option, the shell sets its effective user and group IDs to match their respective real IDs. When the RUID and EUID were both non-zero, it is possible to regain the shell's former privileges. Also, the setopt built-in did not correctly report errors when unsetting the option, which prevented users from handling them as the documentation recommended. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality and integrity as well as system availability.

CVSS score applicability

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

Mitigation

No mitigation is specified in collected source.

CVSS / CWE

CVSS 3.1 · 7.8
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE-271 · Privilege Dropping / Lowering Errors