CVE-2015-5602
sudoedit in Sudo before 1.8.15 allows local users to gain privileges via a symlink attack on a...
sudoedit in Sudo before 1.8.15 allows local users to gain privileges via a symlink attack on a file whose full path is defined using multiple wildcards in /etc/sudoers, as demonstrated by "/home///file.txt."
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
sudoedit in Sudo before 1.8.15 allows local users to gain privileges via a symlink attack on a file whose full path is defined using multiple wildcards in /etc/sudoers, as demonstrated by "/home///file.txt."
- Record
CVE-2015-5602- CVSS 2.0
- 7.2 High
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-264
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
sudoedit in Sudo before 1.8.15 allows local users to gain privileges via a symlink attack on a file whose full path is defined using multiple wildcards in /etc/sudoers, as demonstrated by "/home///file.txt."
- Record
CVE-2015-5602- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2015-5556 No score
sudoedit in Sudo before 1.8.15 allows local users to gain privileges via a symlink attack on a file whose full path is defined using multiple wildcards in /etc/sudoers, as demonstrated by "/home///file.txt."
- Record
EUVD-2015-5556- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-cxqf-2pgv-vx9p No score
sudoedit in Sudo before 1.8.15 allows local users to gain privileges via a symlink attack on a...
sudoedit in Sudo before 1.8.15 allows local users to gain privileges via a symlink attack on a file whose full path is defined using multiple wildcards in /etc/sudoers, as demonstrated by "/home///file.txt."
- Record
GHSA-cxqf-2pgv-vx9p- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV No score
sudoedit in Sudo before 1.8.15 allows local users to gain privileges via a symlink attack on a file whose full path is defined using multiple wildcards in /etc/sudoers, as demonstrated by "/home///file.txt."
- Record
CVE-2015-5602- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2015-5602 No score
sudoedit in Sudo before 1.8.15 allows local users to gain privileges via a symlink attack on a file whose full path is defined using multiple wildcards in /etc/sudoers, as demonstrated by "/home///file.txt."
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2015-5602- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVMGASA-2015-0443 No score
Updated sudo packages fix security vulnerability
An unauthorized privilege escalation was found in sudoedit in sudo before 1.8.15 when a user is granted with root access to modify a particular file that could be located in a subset of directories. It seems that sudoedit does not check the full path if a wildcard is used twice (e.g. /home///file.txt), allowing a malicious user to replace the file.txt real file with a symbolic link to a different location (e.g. /etc/shadow), which results in unauthorized access (CVE-2015-5602).
The sudo package has been updated to version 1.8.15, which fixes this issue, and also includes many other bug fixes and changes. See the upstream change log for details.
- Record
MGASA-2015-0443- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2015-5602 No score
sudoedit in Sudo before 1.8.15 allows local users to gain privileges via a symlink attack on a file whose full path is defined using multiple wildcards in /etc/sudoers, as demonstrated by "/home///file.txt."
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2015-5602- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
sudoDebian:12 |
before 1.8.15-1.1 | 1.8.15-1.1 |
sudoDebian:13 |
before 1.8.15-1.1 | 1.8.15-1.1 |
sudoDebian:14 |
before 1.8.15-1.1 | 1.8.15-1.1 |
sudoDebian:6.0 |
before 1.7.4p4-2.squeeze.6, plus listed versions 1.7.4p4-2.squeeze.11.7.4p4-2.squeeze.21.7.4p4-2.squeeze.31.7.4p4-2.squeeze.41.7.4p4-2.squeeze.5 |
1.7.4p4-2.squeeze.6 |
sudoDebian:7 |
before 1.8.5p2-1+nmu3+deb7u1, plus listed versions 1.8.5p2-1+nmu11.8.5p2-1+nmu21.8.5p2-1+nmu3 |
1.8.5p2-1+nmu3+deb7u1 |
sudoDebian:8 |
before 1.8.10p3-1+deb8u3, plus listed versions 1.8.10p3-1+deb8u2 |
1.8.10p3-1+deb8u3 |
sudoMageia:5 |
before 1.8.15-1.mga5 | 1.8.15-1.mga5 |
sudoUbuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.8.6p3-0ubuntu31.8.8-2ubuntu11.8.8-2ubuntu21.8.9p4-1ubuntu11.8.9p4-1ubuntu2 Show 12 moreShow less1.8.9p5-1ubuntu11.8.9p5-1ubuntu1.11.8.9p5-1ubuntu1.21.8.9p5-1ubuntu1.31.8.9p5-1ubuntu1.41.8.9p5-1ubuntu1.5+esm11.8.9p5-1ubuntu1.5+esm21.8.9p5-1ubuntu1.5+esm31.8.9p5-1ubuntu1.5+esm51.8.9p5-1ubuntu1.5+esm61.8.9p5-1ubuntu1.5+esm71.8.9p5-1ubuntu1.5+esm8 |
None known |
Public exploits
Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.
| Source | Link | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Exploit-DB | Sudo 1.8.14 (RHEL 5/6/7 / Ubuntu) - 'Sudoedit' Unauthorized Privilege Escalation | 2015-07-28 |
| PoC in GitHub | cved-sources/cve-2015-5602 | 2019-01-06 |
| PoC in GitHub | t0kx/privesc-CVE-2015-5602 | 2017-12-16 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, Exploit-DB, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV, PoC in GitHub |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2015-5602 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.2) in Sudo Project Sudo, published November 10, 2015. Public exploit code exists. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.52%, the 74th percentile. Fixed in sudo 1.8.15-1.1.
References
bugzilla.sudo.ws/show_bug.cgi?id=707
sudo.ws/stable.html
securitytracker.com/id/1034392
debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3440
security.gentoo.org/glsa/201606-13
oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/bulletinapr2016-2952098.html
Show 10 moreShow less
lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2015-November/171024.html
exploit-db.com/exploits/37710
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-5602
github.com/advisories/GHSA-cxqf-2pgv-vx9p
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2015-5602
advisories.mageia.org/MGASA-2015-0443.html
bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17117
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2015-5602
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2015-5602