# CVE-2010-3853: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can gain privileges by exploiting environment variable handling in the pam_namespace module when used with setuid programs like sudo.

- **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:** 24 Jan 2011
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2010-3853, GHSA-94f7-h6jj-cq78

## What is CVE-2010-3853?

CVE-2010-3853 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 24 Jan 2011. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

pam_namespace.c in the pam_namespace module in Linux-PAM (aka pam) before 1.1.3 uses the environment of the invoking application or service during execution of the namespace.init script, which might allow local users to gain privileges by running a setuid program that relies on the pam_namespace PAM check, as demonstrated by the sudo program.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2010-3853?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux-Pam Linux-Pam.

## How do I fix CVE-2010-3853?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2010-3853 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2010-3853 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2022-28321](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-28321/): Auth bypass in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-27780](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-27780/): Auth bypass in pam (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2010-4708](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-4708/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2009-0887](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-0887/): Integer overflow in n/a (medium 6.6)
- [CVE-2015-3238](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3238/): Information disclosure in n/a (medium 6.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2010-3853 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2010-3853 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 24 Jan 2011. 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-2010-3853 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-2010-3853/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-3853/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2010-3853
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2010-3853
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2010-3853

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-3853/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.