# CVE-2019-5015: Privilege escalation in Pixar Renderman

> A local privilege escalation vulnerability in Pixar Renderman's Install Helper allows attackers with local access to gain root privileges.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.0 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 8 Mar 2019
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-rgh6-pfcr-gf5m

## What is CVE-2019-5015?

CVE-2019-5015 is a critical vulnerability in Talos Pixar Renderman, published on 8 Mar 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A local privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the Mac OS X version of Pixar Renderman 22.3.0's Install Helper helper tool. A user with local access can use this vulnerability to escalate their privileges to root. An attacker would need local access to the machine for a successful exploit.

Weakness: CWE-749 (Exposed Dangerous Method or Function)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-5015?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Pixar Renderman.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-5015?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-5015 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-5015 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-5015 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Talos Pixar Renderman

- [CVE-2018-4054](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-4054/): Privilege escalation in Pixar Renderman (critical 9.0)
- [CVE-2018-4055](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-4055/): Privilege escalation in Pixar Renderman (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2018-3840](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-3840/): Null dereference in Pixar Renderman (medium 5.3)
- [CVE-2018-3841](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-3841/): Null dereference in Pixar Renderman (medium 5.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-5015 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-5015 is a critical vulnerability in Talos Pixar Renderman, published on 8 Mar 2019. 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-2019-5015 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Talos Pixar Renderman. 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-2019-5015/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5015/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-5015
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-5015
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-5015

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5015/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.