# CVE-2019-3698: nagios cron job allows privilege escalation from user nagios to root

> Local attackers can escalate privileges to root or cause denial of service by exploiting a race condition in the Nagios cron job symlink handling.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 28 Feb 2020
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-q8m8-7jgv-237q

## What is CVE-2019-3698?

CVE-2019-3698 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Opensuse Backports Sle, published on 28 Feb 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following vulnerability in the cronjob shipped with nagios of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11; openSUSE Factory allows local attackers to cause cause DoS or potentially escalate privileges by winning a race. This issue affects: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 nagios version 3.5.1-5.27 and prior versions. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 nagios version 3.0.6-1.25.36.3.1 and prior versions. openSUSE Factory nagios version 4.4.5-2.1 and prior versions.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-3698?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Nagios Nagios, Opensuse Backports Sle, Opensuse Leap.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-3698?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2019-3698 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-3698 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Opensuse Backports Sle

- [CVE-2002-1959](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-1959/): Command injection in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2016-0726](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-0726/): Hardcoded credentials in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2008-7313](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-7313/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2014-5009](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-5009/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-9565](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9565/): Path traversal in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-3698 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-3698 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Opensuse Backports Sle, published on 28 Feb 2020. 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-2019-3698 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Opensuse Backports Sle. 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-2019-3698/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-3698/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-3698
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-3698
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-3698

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-3698/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.