Threats / Linux / CVE-2019-13272
CVE-2019-13272
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-06-22
Linux Kernel vulnerability
A privilege management flaw in Linux kernel ptrace.c allows local users to escalate privileges to root access.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
Local privilege escalation vulnerability in ptrace subsystem. Improper privilege handling enables unprivileged users to gain root-level access. Active exploitation observed in the wild.
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Public proof-of-concept exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
7 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-12-10).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.52199 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
Affected: Linux, Kernel. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management — weakness family: Authorization / access control.CWE assignment from the public NVD record; the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I execute code as an unprivileged local user on a vulnerable Linux system.
Business
System compromise risk increases as any local user becomes a potential entry point for full system takeover.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I exploit the ptrace privilege management flaw to bypass access controls and escalate my privileges.
Business
Administrative controls and user isolation mechanisms are rendered ineffective, eliminating a critical security boundary.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I obtain root-level access and execute arbitrary commands with full system privileges.
Business
Complete system compromise occurs, enabling data theft, malware installation, lateral movement, and persistent backdoor establishment.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05