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CVE-2019-13272

7.8, high Known exploited

Linux Kernel Improper Privilege Management Vulnerability

NVD (opens in a new tab) CVE.org (opens in a new tab) CISA KEV catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CVSS
7.8, high high CVSS v3.1
EPSS, next 30 days
52% higher than 98.9% of scored CVEs
Exploitation
Confirmed in the wild
Published
17 Jul 20197 years ago

Known exploited

CISA added this to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog on 10 Dec 2021. US federal agencies had to remediate by 10 Jun 2022, a deadline that has passed.

Required action. Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Description

In the Linux kernel before 5.1.17, ptrace_link in kernel/ptrace.c mishandles the recording of the credentials of a process that wants to create a ptrace relationship, which allows local users to obtain root access by leveraging certain scenarios with a parent-child process relationship, where a parent drops privileges and calls execve (potentially allowing control by an attacker). One contributing factor is an object lifetime issue (which can also cause a panic). Another contributing factor is incorrect marking of a ptrace relationship as privileged, which is exploitable through (for example) Polkit's pkexec helper with PTRACE_TRACEME. NOTE: SELinux deny_ptrace might be a usable workaround in some environments.

Details

Vendor
Linux and 5 more
Product
Linux Kernel
Weakness
n/a
Status
Analyzed
Updated
17 Jun 2026
Assigner
cve@mitre.org

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

References 30

Exploit code 7

Patches and fixes 5

Advisories 16

8 more

Other references 2

The kind is read from NVD's tags where present and from the shape of the URL otherwise, so treat it as a hint.

Other Linux CVEs

Every Linux CVE we hold

Same vendor in what we hold, not a known link between the flaws.

  • CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Vulnerability KEV EPSS 0.7% 7.8, high
  • CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Vulnerability KEV EPSS 0.8% 8.8, high
  • CVE-2026-31431 Linux Kernel Incorrect Resource Transfer Between Spheres Vulnerability KEV EPSS 3% 7.8, high
  • CVE-2025-39964 Linux Kernel Race Condition Vulnerability KEV EPSS 1% 5.5, medium
  • CVE-2025-39682 Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions Vulnerability KEV EPSS 3% 9.8, critical
  • CVE-2025-38352 Linux Kernel Time-of-Check Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) Race Condition Vulnerability KEV EPSS 1% 7.8, high
  • CVE-2024-53197 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Access Vulnerability KEV EPSS 4% 7.8, high
  • CVE-2024-53150 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Read Vulnerability KEV EPSS 1% 7.1, high

Beyond this page

Is CVE-2019-13272 in your network?

This page tells you how dangerous CVE-2019-13272 is out there. Whether it sits on one of your devices, only a scan of your own network can tell. That is what our systems do, every day, for the companies we protect.

CVE-2019-13272 is in the CISA catalogue of exploited vulnerabilities: attackers are already exploiting it.

  • EXYS7600 OCELOT

    Find it before attackers do

    Ocelot scans your network on a schedule and reports every vulnerability it finds by its CVE identifier, with its CVSS score and how many of your hosts are affected. A finding like CVE-2019-13272 comes with the devices to patch.

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  • EXYS7950 KONDRA

    Detect it if it's exploited

    Until the patch is applied, Kondra monitors your network, events and endpoints in real time. It keeps an inventory of the software installed on every endpoint, and its anomaly detection rules flag what an attacker does once inside.

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Check your exposure

Assembled from the NVD 2.0 API, the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog and FIRST EPSS. Scores are as of our last collection on 17 Oct 2026, not the live upstream state.