CVE-2025-53819
Nix's privilege dropping to build user broke for macOS
Nix is a package manager for Linux and other Unix systems. Builds with Nix 2.30.0 on macOS were executed with elevated privileges (root), instead of the build users. The fix was applied to Nix 2.30.1. No known workarounds are available.
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
- Low
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- Low
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Nix's privilege dropping to build user broke for macOS
Nix is a package manager for Linux and other Unix systems. Builds with Nix 2.30.0 on macOS were executed with elevated privileges (root), instead of the build users. The fix was applied to Nix 2.30.1. No known workarounds are available.
- Record
CVE-2025-53819- CVSS 3.1
- 7.9 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-271
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2025-21392
Nix is a package manager for Linux and other Unix systems. Builds with Nix 2.30.0 on macOS were executed with elevated privileges (root), instead of the build users. The fix was applied to Nix 2.30.1. No known workarounds are available.
- Record
EUVD-2025-21392- CVSS 3.1
- 7.9 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:L - Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
Nix is a package manager for Linux and other Unix systems. Builds with Nix 2.30.0 on macOS were executed with elevated privileges (root), instead of the build users. The fix was applied to Nix 2.30.1. No known workarounds are available.
- Record
CVE-2025-53819- CVSS 3.1
- 7.9 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-271
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
Nix's privilege dropping to build user broke for macOS
Nix is a package manager for Linux and other Unix systems. Builds with Nix 2.30.0 on macOS were executed with elevated privileges (root), instead of the build users. The fix was applied to Nix 2.30.1. No known workarounds are available.
- Record
CVE-2025-53819- CVSS 3.1
- 7.9 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-271
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2025-53819 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.9) in Nixos Nix, published July 14, 2025. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.15%, the 3rd percentile. No source names a fixed version.
References
github.com/NixOS/nix/security/advisories/GHSA-qc7j-jgf3-qmhg
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-53819