# CVE-2021-3560: Red Hat Polkit Incorrect Authorization

> An unprivileged local attacker can bypass polkit credential checks to gain root privileges and create new administrator accounts.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Yes, since 12 May 2023 (CISA KEV)
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 16 Feb 2022
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2025
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-3560, GHSA-7c49-j253-wq5r, MGASA-2021-0244, OESA-2021-1230, RHSA-2021:2236, RHSA-2021:2237, RHSA-2021:2238, RLSA-2021:2238, SUSE-SU-2021:1842-1, SUSE-SU-2021:1843-1, SUSE-SU-2021:1844-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-3560, USN-4980-1, openSUSE-SU-2021:0838-1, openSUSE-SU-2021:1843-1

## What is CVE-2021-3560?

CVE-2021-3560 is a high-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 16 Feb 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

It was found that polkit could be tricked into bypassing the credential checks for D-Bus requests, elevating the privileges of the requestor to the root user. This flaw could be used by an unprivileged local attacker to, for example, create a new local administrator. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality and integrity as well as system availability.

Weakness: CWE-754 (Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions), CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-3560?

It affects 6 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `polkit` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-11.el8_4.1 |
| `polkit-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-11.el8_4.1 |
| `polkit-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-11.el8_4.1 |
| `polkit-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-11.el8_4.1 |
| `polkit-docs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-11.el8_4.1 |
| `polkit-libs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-11.el8_4.1 |
| `polkit-libs-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-11.el8_4.1 |
| `polkit` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.1::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-9.el8_1.1 |
| `polkit-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.1::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-9.el8_1.1 |
| `polkit-debugsource` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.1::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-9.el8_1.1 |
| `polkit-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.1::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-9.el8_1.1 |
| `polkit-docs` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.1::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-9.el8_1.1 |
| `polkit-libs` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.1::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-9.el8_1.1 |
| `polkit-libs-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.1::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-9.el8_1.1 |
| `polkit` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.2::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-11.el8_2.1 |
| `polkit-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.2::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-11.el8_2.1 |
| `polkit-debugsource` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.2::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-11.el8_2.1 |
| `polkit-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.2::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-11.el8_2.1 |
| `polkit-docs` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.2::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-11.el8_2.1 |
| `polkit-libs` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.2::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-11.el8_2.1 |
| `polkit-libs-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:8.2::baseos | All versions | 0:0.115-11.el8_2.1 |
| `polkit` | Rocky Linux:8 | All versions | 0:0.115-11.el8_4.1 |
| `polkit` | SUSE:Enterprise Storage 6 | All versions | 0.114-3.12.1 |
| `polkit` | SUSE:HPE Helion OpenStack 8 | All versions | 0.113-5.21.1 |
| `polkit` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-ESPOS | All versions | 0.114-3.12.1 |
| `polkit` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-LTSS | All versions | 0.114-3.12.1 |
| `polkit` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15-ESPOS | All versions | 0.114-3.12.1 |
| `polkit` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15-LTSS | All versions | 0.114-3.12.1 |
| `polkit` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.0 | All versions | 0.116-3.3.1 |
| `polkit` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP2 | All versions | 0.116-3.3.1 |
| `polkit` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 | All versions | 0.116-3.3.1 |
| `polkit` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-BCL | All versions | 0.113-5.21.1 |
| `polkit` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3-BCL | All versions | 0.113-5.21.1 |
| `polkit` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3-LTSS | All versions | 0.113-5.21.1 |
| `polkit` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-LTSS | All versions | 0.113-5.21.1 |
| `polkit` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 | All versions | 0.113-5.21.1 |
| `polkit` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-BCL | All versions | 0.114-3.12.1 |
| `polkit` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS | All versions | 0.114-3.12.1 |
| `polkit` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15-LTSS | All versions | 0.114-3.12.1 |
| `polkit` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP3 | All versions | 0.113-5.21.1 |

Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Debian Debian Linux, Polkit Project Polkit, Redhat Openshift Container Platform, Redhat Virtualization, Redhat Virtualization Host.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-3560?

Apply the vendor's patch. US federal agencies must fix it by 2 Jun 2023.

## Is CVE-2021-3560 being exploited?

Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2021-3560 in the wild since at least 12 May 2023.

Public exploit code:

- https://github.com/secnigma/CVE-2021-3560-Polkit-Privilege-Esclation (github_poc): https://github.com/secnigma/CVE-2021-3560-Polkit-Privilege-Esclation
- Privilege escalation with polkit - CVE-2021-3560 (github_poc): https://github.com/Almorabea/Polkit-exploit
- PolicyKit CVE-2021-3560 Exploit (Authentication Agent) (github_poc): https://github.com/RicterZ/CVE-2021-3560-Authentication-Agent
- CVE-2021-3560 Local PrivEsc Exploit (github_poc): https://github.com/swapravo/polkadots
- a reliable C based exploit and writeup for CVE-2021-3560. (github_poc): https://github.com/hakivvi/CVE-2021-3560
- PolicyKit CVE-2021-3560 Exploitation (Authentication Agent) (github_poc): https://github.com/winmin/CVE-2021-3560

## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux

- [CVE-2020-11651](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11651/): SaltStack Salt Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-7247](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7247/): OpenSMTPD Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-16928](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16928/): Exim Out-of-bounds Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-6789](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6789/): Exim Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2015-2590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2590/): Oracle Java SE and Java SE Embedded Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-3560 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-3560 is a high-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 16 Feb 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2021-3560 in the wild since at least 12 May 2023.

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-2021-3560/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3560/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-3560
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-3560
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-3560

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3560/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.