# CVE-2023-42456: sudo-rs Session File Relative Path Traversal vulnerability > An attacker with a crafted username can delete critical system binaries via path traversal in sudo-rs session file handling, requiring an upgrade to fix. - **Severity:** Low 3.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Any signed-in user - **Attackable:** Local or same network only - **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 21 Sep 2023 - **Updated:** 10 Jun 2026 - **Also known as:** GHSA-2r3c-m6v7-9354, RUSTSEC-2023-0069 ## What is CVE-2023-42456? CVE-2023-42456 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in memorysafety sudo-rs, published on 21 Sep 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link. ### Official description Sudo-rs, a memory safe implementation of sudo and su, allows users to not have to enter authentication at every sudo attempt, but instead only requiring authentication every once in a while in every terminal or process group. Only once a configurable timeout has passed will the user have to re-authenticate themselves. Supporting this functionality is a set of session files (timestamps) for each user, stored in `/var/run/sudo-rs/ts`. These files are named according to the username from which the sudo attempt is made (the origin user). An issue was discovered in versions prior to 0.2.1 where usernames containing the `.` and `/` characters could result in the corruption of specific files on the filesystem. As usernames are generally not limited by the characters they can contain, a username appearing to be a relative path can be constructed. For example we could add a user to the system containing the username `../../../../bin/cp`. When logged in as a user with that name, that user could run `sudo -K` to clear their session record file. The session code then constructs the path to the session file by concatenating the username to the session file storage directory, resulting in a resolved path of `/bin/cp`. The code then clears that file, resulting in the `cp` binary effectively being removed from the system. An attacker needs to be able to login as a user with a constructed username. Given that such a username is unlikely to exist on an existing system, they will also need to be able to create the users with the constructed usernames. The issue is patched in version 0.2.1 of sudo-rs. Sudo-rs now uses the uid for the user instead of their username for determining the filename. Note that an upgrade to this version will result in existing session files being ignored and users will be forced to re-authenticate. It also fully eliminates any possibility of path traversal, given that uids are always integer values. The `sudo -K` and `sudo -k` commands can run, even if a user has no sudo access. As a workaround, make sure that one's system does not contain any users with a specially crafted username. While this is the case and while untrusted users do not have the ability to create arbitrary users on the system, one should not be able to exploit this issue. Weakness: CWE-23 (Relative Path Traversal), CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-42456? 3 open source packages ship an affected version, including sudo-rs. It affects 1 product. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `sudo-rs` | crates.io | All versions | 0.2.1 | | `sudo-rs` | crates.io | All versions | 0.2.1 | | `sudo-rs` | crates.io | From 0.0.0-0 | 0.2.1 | Products: Memorysafety Sudo. ## How do I fix CVE-2023-42456? Upgrade sudo-rs to 0.2.1 or later. ## Is CVE-2023-42456 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-42456 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2023-42456 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2023-42456 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in memorysafety sudo-rs, published on 21 Sep 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-42456 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected packages and fixed versions: - sudo-rs (crates.io): affected all versions; fixed in 0.2.1 - sudo-rs (crates.io): affected all versions; fixed in 0.2.1 - sudo-rs (crates.io): affected from 0.0.0-0; fixed in 0.2.1 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-2023-42456/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-42456/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-42456 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-42456 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-42456 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-42456/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.