# CVE-2011-1485: Race condition in n/a

> Local attackers can exploit a race condition in PolicyKit's pkexec utility to gain elevated privileges by executing setuid programs.

- **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:** 31 May 2011
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2011-1485, DSA-2319-1, GHSA-mjm4-2fq8-2392, RHSA-2011:0455

## What is CVE-2011-1485?

CVE-2011-1485 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 31 May 2011. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Race condition in the pkexec utility and polkitd daemon in PolicyKit (aka polkit) 0.96 allows local users to gain privileges by executing a setuid program from pkexec, related to the use of the effective user ID instead of the real user ID.

Weakness: CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2011-1485?

It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `polkit` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:0.96-2.el6_0.1 |
| `polkit-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:0.96-2.el6_0.1 |
| `polkit-desktop-policy` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:0.96-2.el6_0.1 |
| `polkit-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:0.96-2.el6_0.1 |
| `polkit-docs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:0.96-2.el6_0.1 |
| `polkit` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:0.96-2.el6_0.1 |
| `polkit-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:0.96-2.el6_0.1 |
| `polkit-desktop-policy` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:0.96-2.el6_0.1 |
| `polkit-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:0.96-2.el6_0.1 |
| `polkit-docs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:0.96-2.el6_0.1 |
| `polkit` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:0.96-2.el6_0.1 |
| `polkit-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:0.96-2.el6_0.1 |
| `polkit-desktop-policy` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:0.96-2.el6_0.1 |
| `polkit-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:0.96-2.el6_0.1 |
| `polkit-docs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:0.96-2.el6_0.1 |
| `polkit` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation | All versions | 0:0.96-2.el6_0.1 |
| `polkit-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation | All versions | 0:0.96-2.el6_0.1 |
| `polkit-desktop-policy` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation | All versions | 0:0.96-2.el6_0.1 |
| `polkit-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation | All versions | 0:0.96-2.el6_0.1 |
| `polkit-docs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation | All versions | 0:0.96-2.el6_0.1 |

Products: Redhat Policykit.

## How do I fix CVE-2011-1485?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2011-1485 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2011-1485 exists.

Public exploit code:

- CVE-2011-1485 - Linux pkexec and polkitd 0.96 race condition privilege escalation exploit. Developed in 2011 by Antonius (ev1lut10n / w1sdom) (github_poc): https://github.com/bluedragonsecurity/CVE-2011-1485-pkexec-exploit
- Linux PolicyKit Race Condition Privilege Escalation (metasploit)
- PolicyKit polkit-1 < 0.101 - Local Privilege Escalation (exploitdb)
- pkexec - Race Condition Privilege Escalation (exploitdb)
- CVE-2011-1485 - Published: 2011-04-01 - PolicyKit: (github_poc): https://github.com/Pashkela/CVE-2011-1485
- Linux PolicyKit - Race Condition Privilege Escalation (Metasploit) (exploitdb)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2011-1485 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2011-1485 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 31 May 2011. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2011-1485 exists.

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-2011-1485/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-1485/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2011-1485
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-1485
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2011-1485

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-1485/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.