CVE-2026-23741 Privilege escalation in asterisk
A local attacker with write access to Asterisk config can execute arbitrary code as root via the ast_coredumper script.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-23741?
CVE-2026-23741 is a vulnerability in asterisk, published on 6 Feb 2026. 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
Asterisk is an open source private branch exchange and telephony toolkit. Prior to versions 20.7-cert9, 20.18.2, 21.12.1, 22.8.2, and 23.2.2, the asterisk/contrib/scripts/ast_coredumper runs as root, as noted by the NOTES tag on line 689 of the ast_coredumper file. The script will source the contents of /etc/asterisk/ast_debug_tools.conf, which resides in a folder that is writeable by the asterisk user:group. Due to the /etc/asterisk/ast_debug_tools.conf file following bash semantics and it being loaded; an attacker with write permissions may add or modify the file such that when the root ast_coredumper is run; it would source and thereby execute arbitrary bash code found in the /etc/asterisk/ast_debug_tools.conf. This issue has been patched in versions 20.7-cert9, 20.18.2, 21.12.1, 22.8.2, and 23.2.2.
Weakness: CWE-427
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23741?
It affects 2 products.
Products include Sangoma Asterisk, Sangoma Certified Asterisk.
How do I fix CVE-2026-23741?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-23741 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23741 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in asterisk
- CVE-2024-57520 Path traversal in n/a
- CVE-2025-47779 Using malformed From header can forge identity with ";" or NULL in name portion
- CVE-2025-57767 Asterisk can crash from a specifically malformed Authorization header in an incoming SIP request
- CVE-2022-37325 Memory corruption in n/a
- CVE-2025-1131 Asterisk Unsafe Shell Sourcing in safe_asterisk Leads to Local Privilege Escalation
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23741, GHSA-rvch-3jmx-3jf3, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23741.