CVE-2022-0563

util-linux: partial disclosure of arbitrary files in chfn and chsh when compiled with libreadline

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Severity

Moderate

Red Hat Product Security

5.5

CVSS 3.1

Review impact separately from score.

Published · February 14, 2022

Updated · November 21, 2025

Description

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel’s util-linux chfn and chsh utilities when compiled with Readline support. The Readline library uses an "INPUTRC" environment variable to get a path to the library config file. When the library cannot parse the specified file, it prints an error message containing data from the file. This flaw allows an unprivileged user to read root-owned files, potentially leading to privilege escalation.

Statement

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 is not affected by this flaw as chfn and chsh are not compiled with readline support (libreadline is not linked).

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 · 5.5
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CWE-209 · Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information