# CVE-2010-1163: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can execute arbitrary commands with elevated privileges by exploiting a flaw in sudo's command matching when the current directory is in PATH.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.9 (`AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 16 Apr 2010
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2010-1163, GHSA-hh7m-2j26-qw2m, RHSA-2010:0361

## What is CVE-2010-1163?

CVE-2010-1163 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 16 Apr 2010. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The command matching functionality in sudo 1.6.8 through 1.7.2p5 does not properly handle when a file in the current working directory has the same name as a pseudo-command in the sudoers file and the PATH contains an entry for ".", which allows local users to execute arbitrary commands via a Trojan horse executable, as demonstrated using sudoedit, a different vulnerability than CVE-2010-0426.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2010-1163?

It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `sudo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:1.7.2p1-6.el5_5 |
| `sudo-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:1.7.2p1-6.el5_5 |
| `sudo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:1.7.2p1-6.el5_5 |
| `sudo-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:1.7.2p1-6.el5_5 |

Products: Todd Miller Sudo.

## How do I fix CVE-2010-1163?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2010-1163 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2010-1163 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2005-1831](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-1831/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 8.4)
- [CVE-2012-2337](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-2337/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2012-0809](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-0809/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2006-0151](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-0151/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2002-0043](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-0043/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2010-1163 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2010-1163 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 16 Apr 2010. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2010-1163 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-1163/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-1163/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2010-1163
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2010-1163
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2010-1163

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-1163/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.