CVE-2019-15900

CVE-2019-15900 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Doas Project Doas with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-252.

Key facts

Description

An issue was discovered in slicer69 doas before 6.2 on certain platforms other than OpenBSD. On platforms without strtonum(3), sscanf was used without checking for error cases. Instead, the uninitialized variable errstr was checked and in some cases returned success even if sscanf failed. The result was that, instead of reporting that the supplied username or group name did not exist, it would execute the command as root.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2019-15900?
An issue was discovered in slicer69 doas before 6.2 on certain platforms other than OpenBSD. On platforms without strtonum(3), sscanf was used without checking for error cases. Instead, the uninitialized variable errstr was checked and in some cases returned success even if sscanf failed. The result was that, instead of reporting that the supplied username or group name did not exist, it would execute the command as root.
How severe is CVE-2019-15900?
CVE-2019-15900 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2019-15900 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 2% (80th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2019-15900?
CVE-2019-15900 affects Doas Project Doas. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2019-15900?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2019-15900 published?
CVE-2019-15900 was published on 2019-10-18 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

More vulnerabilities in Doas Project Doas

All CVEs affecting Doas Project Doas →

Other CWE-252 vulnerabilities

Browse all CWE-252 vulnerabilities →