CVE-2023-1521
Local Privilege Escalation in sccache
On Linux the sccache client can execute arbitrary code with the privileges of a local sccache server, by preloading the code in a shared library passed to LD_PRELOAD.
If the server is run as root (which is the default when installing the snap package https://snapcraft.io/sccache ), this means a user running the sccache client can get root privileges.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Local Privilege Escalation in sccache
On Linux the sccache client can execute arbitrary code with the privileges of a local sccache server, by preloading the code in a shared library passed to LD_PRELOAD.
If the server is run as root (which is the default when installing the snap package https://snapcraft.io/sccache ), this means a user running the sccache client can get root privileges.
- Record
CVE-2023-1521- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-426
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2023-1648
On Linux the sccache client can execute arbitrary code with the privileges of a local sccache server, by preloading the code in a shared library passed to LD_PRELOAD.
If the server is run as root (which is the default when installing the snap package https://snapcraft.io/sccache ), this means a user running the sccache client can get root privileges.
- Record
EUVD-2023-1648- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-x7fr-pg8f-93f5
sccache vulnerable to privilege escalation if server is run as root
Impact
On Linux the sccache client can execute arbitrary code with the privileges of a local sccache server, by preloading the code in a shared library passed to LD_PRELOAD.
If the server is run as root (which is the default when installing the snap package), this means a user running the sccache client can get root privileges.
Patches
Upgrade to 0.4.0
Workarounds
Don't run sccache server as root.
GitHub Security Lab number
GHSL-2023-046
- Record
GHSA-x7fr-pg8f-93f5- CVSS 4.0
- 7.3 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P - CVSS 3.1
- 8.4 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-426
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
On Linux the sccache client can execute arbitrary code with the privileges of a local sccache server, by preloading the code in a shared library passed to LD_PRELOAD.
If the server is run as root (which is the default when installing the snap package https://snapcraft.io/sccache ), this means a user running the sccache client can get root privileges.
- Record
CVE-2023-1521- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-426
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
On Linux the sccache client can execute arbitrary code with the privileges of a local sccache server, by preloading the code in a shared library passed to LD_PRELOAD.
If the server is run as root (which is the default when installing the snap package https://snapcraft.io/sccache ), this means a user running the sccache client can get root privileges.
- Record
CVE-2023-1521- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2023-1521
On Linux the sccache client can execute arbitrary code with the privileges of a local sccache server, by preloading the code in a shared library passed to LD_PRELOAD. If the server is run as root (which is the default when installing the snap package https://snapcraft.io/sccache ), this means a user running the sccache client can get root privileges.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2023-1521- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Show 4 moreShow less
OSVGHSA-x7fr-pg8f-93f5
sccache vulnerable to privilege escalation if server is run as root
Impact
On Linux the sccache client can execute arbitrary code with the privileges of a local sccache server, by preloading the code in a shared library passed to LD_PRELOAD.
If the server is run as root (which is the default when installing the snap package), this means a user running the sccache client can get root privileges.
Patches
Upgrade to 0.4.0
Workarounds
Don't run sccache server as root.
GitHub Security Lab number
GHSL-2023-046
- Record
GHSA-x7fr-pg8f-93f5- CVSS 4.0
- 7.3 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P - CVSS 3.1
- 8.4 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-426
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2023-1521
On Linux the sccache client can execute arbitrary code with the privileges of a local sccache server, by preloading the code in a shared library passed to LD_PRELOAD. If the server is run as root (which is the default when installing the snap package https://snapcraft.io/sccache ), this means a user running the sccache client can get root privileges.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2023-1521- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVSUSE-SU-2023:2637-1 No score
Security update for sccache
This update for sccache fixes the following issues:
- CVE-2023-1521: Fixed possible code injection via LD_PRELOAD to sccache server (bsc#1212407).
- CVE-2022-31394: Fixed a denial-of-service vulnerability via header list size (bsc#1208553).
- Record
SUSE-SU-2023:2637-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVSUSE-SU-2023:3526-1 No score
Security update for sccache
This update for sccache fixes the following issues:
- Update to version 0.4.2.
- CVE-2021-45710: Fixed a segmentation fault due to data race in tokio crate. (bsc#1194119)
- CVE-2022-24713: Fixed a ReDoS issue due to vulnerable regex crate. (bsc#1196972)
- CVE-2022-31394: Fixed a DoS issue due to the max header list size not settable. (bsc#1208553)
- CVE-2023-1521: Fixed a local privilege escalation. (bsc#1212407)
- Record
SUSE-SU-2023:3526-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
sccachecrates.io |
before 0.4.0 | 0.4.0 |
sccacheDebian:12 |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.10.0-10.10.0-100.10.0-20.10.0-30.10.0-4 Show 45 moreShow less0.10.0-50.10.0-60.10.0-70.10.0-80.10.0-90.11.0-10.12.0-10.12.0-20.12.0-30.13.0+ds-10.13.0+ds-20.13.0+ds-30.14.0+ds-10.14.0+ds-20.14.0+ds-30.14.0+ds-40.15.0+ds-10.16.0+ds-10.17.0+ds-10.17.0+ds-20.17.0+ds-30.4.0~~pre6-10.4.0~~pre7-10.4.0~~pre8-10.4.0~~pre8-20.4.0~~pre8-30.4.0~~pre8-40.4.0~~pre8-50.4.0~~pre8-60.4.0~~pre8-70.4.0~~pre8-80.4.2-10.5.0-10.5.3-10.5.4-10.5.4-100.5.4-110.5.4-120.5.4-20.5.4-30.5.4-40.5.4-50.5.4-60.5.4-70.5.4-8 |
None known |
sccacheDebian:13 |
before 0.5.3-1 | 0.5.3-1 |
sccacheDebian:14 |
before 0.5.3-1 | 0.5.3-1 |
sccacheSUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP5 From an advisory covering 2 CVEs |
before 0.4.1~18-150300.7.12.1 | 0.4.1~18-150300.7.12.1 |
sccacheSUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-ESPOS From an advisory covering 2 CVEs |
before 0.4.1~18-150300.7.12.1 | 0.4.1~18-150300.7.12.1 |
sccacheSUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS From an advisory covering 2 CVEs |
before 0.4.1~18-150300.7.12.1 | 0.4.1~18-150300.7.12.1 |
sccacheSUSE:Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP3 From an advisory covering 2 CVEs |
before 0.4.1~18-150300.7.12.1 | 0.4.1~18-150300.7.12.1 |
sccacheSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS From an advisory covering 2 CVEs |
before 0.4.1~18-150300.7.12.1 | 0.4.1~18-150300.7.12.1 |
sccacheSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 From an advisory covering 2 CVEs |
before 0.4.1~18-150300.7.12.1 | 0.4.1~18-150300.7.12.1 |
Show 9 moreShow less
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
sccacheSUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 From an advisory covering 2 CVEs |
before 0.4.1~18-150300.7.12.1 | 0.4.1~18-150300.7.12.1 |
sccacheSUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP4 From an advisory covering 4 CVEs |
before 0.4.2~3-150400.3.3.1 | 0.4.2~3-150400.3.3.1 |
sccacheSUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP5 From an advisory covering 4 CVEs |
before 0.4.2~3-150400.3.3.1 | 0.4.2~3-150400.3.3.1 |
sccacheopenSUSE:Leap 15.4 From an advisory covering 4 CVEs |
before 0.4.2~3-150400.3.3.1 | 0.4.2~3-150400.3.3.1 |
sccacheopenSUSE:Leap 15.5 From an advisory covering 4 CVEs |
before 0.4.2~3-150400.3.3.1 | 0.4.2~3-150400.3.3.1 |
sccacheUbuntu:Pro:24.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.5.4-20.7.4-30.7.5-10.7.5-20.7.6-1 Show 6 moreShow less0.7.7-10.7.7-20.7.7-2build10.7.7-2ubuntu0.1~esm10.7.7-2ubuntu0.10.7.7-2ubuntu0.1+esm1 |
None known |
sccacheUbuntu:25.10 |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.9.1-30.10.0-40.10.0-70.10.0-7ubuntu0.1 |
None known |
sccacheUbuntu:26.10 |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.13.0+ds-30.17.0+ds-3 |
None known |
sccacheUbuntu:26.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.10.0-70.11.0-10.12.0-20.12.0-30.13.0+ds-10.13.0+ds-30.13.0+ds-3build1 |
None known |
Public exploits
Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.
| Source | Link | Date |
|---|---|---|
| PoC in GitHub | rubbxalc/CVE-2023-1521 | 2023-11-15 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, facts | ||
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV, PoC in GitHub |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2023-1521 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.8) in Mozilla Sccache, published May 30, 2023. Public exploit code exists. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.36%, the 30th percentile. Fixed in sccache 0.4.0.
References
securitylab.github.com/advisories/GHSL-2023-046_ScCache
github.com/advisories/GHSA-x7fr-pg8f-93f5
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-1521
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-1521
Show 14 moreShow less
suse.com/support/update/announcement/2023/suse-su-20232637-1
bugzilla.suse.com/1208553
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-1521
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-1521
Left out here: 28 versions. The JSON record has them.