# CVE-2013-10052: ZPanel zsudo Local Privilege Escalation

> Local attackers can escalate privileges to root via the zsudo binary if misconfigured in sudoers, allowing arbitrary command execution.

- **Severity:** High 8.5 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **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:** No
- **Published:** 4 Aug 2025
- **Updated:** 7 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-j946-93h7-vxv2

## What is CVE-2013-10052?

CVE-2013-10052 is a high-severity vulnerability in ZPanel, published on 4 Aug 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

ZPanel includes a helper binary named zsudo, intended to allow restricted privilege escalation for administrative tasks. However, when misconfigured in /etc/sudoers, zsudo can be invoked by low-privileged users to execute arbitrary commands as root. This flaw enables local attackers with shell access to escalate privileges by writing a payload to a writable directory and executing it via zsudo. The vulnerability is particularly impactful in post-exploitation scenarios following web server compromise, where the attacker inherits access to zsudo.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2013-10052?


## How do I fix CVE-2013-10052?

No fix has been published for CVE-2013-10052 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2013-10052 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2013-10052 exists.

Public exploit code:

- ZPanel zsudo Local Privilege Escalation Exploit (metasploit)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2013-10052 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2013-10052 is a high-severity vulnerability in ZPanel, published on 4 Aug 2025. 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-2013-10052 exists.

Affected product: ZPanel. 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-2013-10052/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-10052/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2013-10052
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-10052
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2013-10052

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-10052/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.