# CVE-2011-4099: Security feature bypass in n/a

> Local users can bypass chroot restrictions in the capsh program by exploiting a missing directory change, potentially escaping the sandbox.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.6 (`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P`)
- **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:** 8 Feb 2014
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2011-4099, GHSA-5467-hwqm-9669, RHSA-2011:1694

## What is CVE-2011-4099?

CVE-2011-4099 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 8 Feb 2014. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The capsh program in libcap before 2.22 does not change the current working directory when the --chroot option is specified, which allows local users to bypass the chroot restrictions via unspecified vectors.

Weakness: CWE-264

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2011-4099?

It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `libcap` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.16-5.5.el6 |
| `libcap-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.16-5.5.el6 |
| `libcap-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.16-5.5.el6 |
| `libcap` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.16-5.5.el6 |
| `libcap-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.16-5.5.el6 |
| `libcap-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.16-5.5.el6 |
| `libcap` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.16-5.5.el6 |
| `libcap-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.16-5.5.el6 |
| `libcap-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.16-5.5.el6 |
| `libcap` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation | All versions | 0:2.16-5.5.el6 |
| `libcap-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation | All versions | 0:2.16-5.5.el6 |
| `libcap-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation | All versions | 0:2.16-5.5.el6 |

Products: Libcap Libcap.

## How do I fix CVE-2011-4099?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2011-4099 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2011-4099 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2011-4099 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2011-4099 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 8 Feb 2014. 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-2011-4099 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-2011-4099/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-4099/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2011-4099
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-4099
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2011-4099

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-4099/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.