# CVE-2019-7304: Local privilege escalation via snapd socket

> An attacker can exploit snapd socket validation flaws to execute arbitrary commands as root, leading to local privilege escalation on Linux systems.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** 23 Apr 2019
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2019-7304, GHSA-jvm5-cj73-m9qg, UBUNTU-CVE-2019-7304, USN-3887-1

## What is CVE-2019-7304?

CVE-2019-7304 is a high-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 23 Apr 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Canonical snapd before version 2.37.1 incorrectly performed socket owner validation, allowing an attacker to run arbitrary commands as root. This issue affects: Canonical snapd versions prior to 2.37.1.

Weakness: CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-7304?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Canonical Snapd, Canonical Ubuntu Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-7304?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2019-7304 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-7304 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- Linux privilege escalation exploit via snapd (CVE-2019-7304) (github_poc): https://github.com/initstring/dirty_sock
- Payload Generator (github_poc): https://github.com/SecuritySi/CVE-2019-7304_DirtySock
- Another implementation for linux privilege escalation exploit via snap(d) (CVE-2019-7304) (github_poc): https://github.com/elvi7major/snap_priv_esc
- Local Privilege Escalation via snapd (CVE-2019-7304) Remastered PoC exploit (github_poc): https://github.com/f4T1H21/dirty_sock
- snapd < 2.37 (Ubuntu) - 'dirty_sock' Local Privilege Escalation (1) (exploitdb)
- snapd < 2.37 (Ubuntu) - 'dirty_sock' Local Privilege Escalation (2) (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux

- [CVE-2023-1523](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1523/): Command injection in snapd (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2020-27352](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-27352/): Privilege escalation in snapd (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2021-4120](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-4120/): snapd could be made to bypass intended access restrictions through snap content interfaces and layout paths (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2024-5138](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-5138/): CVE-2024-5138: snapd snapctl auth bypass (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2022-3328](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-3328/): snapd Race Condition vulnerability (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-7304 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-7304 is a high-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 23 Apr 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-2019-7304 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux. 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-2019-7304/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-7304/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-7304
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-7304
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-7304

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-7304/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.