# CVE-2010-4708: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can execute programs with unintended environments via the pam_env module, potentially leading to privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** High 7.2 (`AV:L/AC:L/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-2010-4708, GHSA-77qw-jxwx-7hx3

## What is CVE-2010-4708?

CVE-2010-4708 is a high-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

The pam_env module in Linux-PAM (aka pam) 1.1.2 and earlier reads the .pam_environment file in a user's home directory, which might allow local users to run programs with an unintended environment by executing a program that relies on the pam_env PAM check.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2010-4708?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux-Pam Linux-Pam.

## How do I fix CVE-2010-4708?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2010-4708 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2010-4708 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-2010-3853](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-3853/): Privilege escalation in n/a (medium 6.9)
- [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-2010-4708 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2010-4708 is a high-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-2010-4708 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-2010-4708/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-4708/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2010-4708
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2010-4708
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2010-4708

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-4708/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.