# CVE-2026-96512: Sudo: sudo: tz environment variable allows bypass of notbefore/notafter time-based authorization

> Local attackers can bypass sudo time-based authorization restrictions by manipulating the TZ environment variable, allowing execution of commands outside intended windows.

- **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:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 23 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 29 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** ALSA-2026:75571, ALSA-2026:75579, ALSA-2026:75580, AZL-104940, BELL-CVE-2026-96512, CLSA-2026-1791552454, CLSA-2026-1791564552, CLSA-2026-1791570106, CLSA-2026-1791794851, CLSA-2026-1791834762, CLSA-2026-1792204181, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-96512, ECHO-b9a3-69e9-2a9f, GHSA-jj2h-hcrf-9gfx, OESA-2026-4258, OESA-2026-4259, OESA-2026-4260, OESA-2026-4261, RHSA-2026:71609, RHSA-2026:75571, RHSA-2026:75579, RHSA-2026:75580, RLSA-2026:75571, RLSA-2026:75579, RLSA-2026:75580, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96512, USN-8895-1

## What is CVE-2026-96512?

CVE-2026-96512 is a high-severity vulnerability in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, published on 23 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A flaw was found in sudo. When sudoers rules use NOTBEFORE or NOTAFTER time-based access restrictions with timestamps that omit the trailing 'Z' timezone indicator, the time evaluation relies on the TZ environment variable inherited from the calling user. Because sudo is a setuid-root program, an unprivileged local user can set TZ to an extreme timezone offset to shift the authorization window by up to approximately 25 hours, causing expired rules to be treated as valid. This allows the user to execute commands outside the intended time window. Authentication is not bypassed; only the time-based authorization check is affected.

Weakness: CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-96512?


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `sudo` | AlmaLinux:10 | All versions | 1.9.17-10.p2.el10_2.7 |
| `sudo-python-plugin` | AlmaLinux:10 | All versions | 1.9.17-10.p2.el10_2.7 |
| `sudo` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1.9.5p2-2.el8_10 |
| `sudo` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1.9.17p2-3.el9_8.3 |
| `sudo-python-plugin` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1.9.17p2-3.el9_8.3 |
| `sudo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2 | All versions | 0:1.9.17-10.p2.el10_2.7 |
| `sudo-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2 | All versions | 0:1.9.17-10.p2.el10_2.7 |
| `sudo-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2 | All versions | 0:1.9.17-10.p2.el10_2.7 |
| `sudo-python-plugin` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2 | All versions | 0:1.9.17-10.p2.el10_2.7 |
| `sudo-python-plugin-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2 | All versions | 0:1.9.17-10.p2.el10_2.7 |
| `sudo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:1.9.5p2-2.el8_10 |
| `sudo-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:1.9.5p2-2.el8_10 |
| `sudo-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:1.9.5p2-2.el8_10 |
| `sudo-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 0:1.9.17p2-3.el9_8.3 |
| `sudo-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 0:1.9.17p2-3.el9_8.3 |
| `sudo-python-plugin` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 0:1.9.17p2-3.el9_8.3 |
| `sudo-python-plugin-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 0:1.9.17p2-3.el9_8.3 |
| `sudo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | All versions | 0:1.9.17p2-3.el9_8.3 |
| `sudo-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | All versions | 0:1.9.17p2-3.el9_8.3 |
| `sudo-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | All versions | 0:1.9.17p2-3.el9_8.3 |
| `sudo-python-plugin-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | All versions | 0:1.9.17p2-3.el9_8.3 |
| `sudo` | Red Hat:hummingbird:1 | All versions | 0:1.9.17-16.p2.2.hum1 |
| `sudo-devel` | Red Hat:hummingbird:1 | All versions | 0:1.9.17-16.p2.2.hum1 |
| `sudo-logsrvd` | Red Hat:hummingbird:1 | All versions | 0:1.9.17-16.p2.2.hum1 |
| `sudo-python-plugin` | Red Hat:hummingbird:1 | All versions | 0:1.9.17-16.p2.2.hum1 |
| `sudo` | Rocky Linux:10 | All versions | 0:1.9.17-10.p2.el10_2.7 |
| `sudo` | Rocky Linux:8 | All versions | 0:1.9.5p2-2.el8_10 |
| `sudo` | Rocky Linux:9 | All versions | 0:1.9.17p2-3.el9_8.3 |

## How do I fix CVE-2026-96512?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-96512 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-96512 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- https://github.com/Ermensonx/sudotimewarp-cve-2026-96512- (github_poc): https://github.com/Ermensonx/sudotimewarp-cve-2026-96512-
- CVE-2026-96512 - sudo - High 7.8 - Authenticated LOCAL TZ=UTC+14 sudo -n /usr/bin/id - Local Privilege Escalation via Time-Window Bypass (github_poc): https://github.com/abraxas/CVE-2026-96512

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-96512 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-96512 is a high-severity vulnerability in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, published on 23 Sep 2026. 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-2026-96512 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10. 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-2026-96512/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-96512/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-96512
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-96512
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-96512

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-96512/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.