CVE-2015-5889 Privilege escalation in n/a

High 7.2 Published 9 Oct 2015 Updated 6 Aug 2024

Local attackers can exploit environment variable handling in the rsh utility to gain root privileges on macOS systems.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Any signed-in user
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: None listed

What is CVE-2015-5889?

CVE-2015-5889 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apple Mac Os X, published on 9 Oct 2015. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

rsh in the remote_cmds component in Apple OS X before 10.11 allows local users to obtain root privileges via vectors involving environment variables.

Weakness: CWE-264

Which versions are affected by CVE-2015-5889?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Apple Mac Os X.

How do I fix CVE-2015-5889?

No fix has been published for CVE-2015-5889 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Is CVE-2015-5889 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2015-5889 exists.

Public exploit code: 1 Metasploit module and 2 Exploit-DB entries.

All Apple Mac Os X vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as GHSA-7m5g-q9fx-rh4c.