sudo: It was discovered that the default sudo configuration on Red Hat Enterprise Linux…
Priority LOW 21CWE-200Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Information disclosure
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 8 fixed, 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.0 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-200.
Summary
sudo: It was discovered that the default sudo configuration on Red Hat Enterprise Linux and possibly other Linux implementations preserves the value of INPUTRC which could lead to information disclosure. A local user with sudo access to a restricted program that uses readline could use this flaw to read content from specially formatted files with elevated privileges provided by sudo.
Why it matters now
EPSS 0.00403 34th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Red Hat: 1 advisoryRed Hat: 8 fixed, 4 without a fix
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 5
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | all versions | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
| cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_desktop:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
| cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_hpc_node:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
| cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
| cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_workstation:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
- cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions all versions Vulnerable ·Red Hat
- cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_desktop:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
- cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_hpc_node:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
- cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
- cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_workstation:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
Remediation
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2016:2593 Released 2016-11-03 · Red Hat rating Lowsudo security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client (v. 7) sudo-1.8.6p7-20.el7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client Optional (v. 7) sudo-devel-1.8.6p7-20.el7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode (v. 7) sudo-1.8.6p7-20.el7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional (v. 7) sudo-devel-1.8.6p7-20.el7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) sudo-1.8.6p7-20.el7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 7) sudo-devel-1.8.6p7-20.el7, sudo-devel-1.8.6p7-20.el7.ppc
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) sudo-1.8.6p7-20.el7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation Optional (v. 7) sudo-devel-1.8.6p7-20.el7
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat OpenShift Enterprise 2 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2016:2593 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client Optional (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2016:2593 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2016:2593 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2016:2593 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2016:2593 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2016:2593 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2016:2593 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation Optional (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2016:2593 |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2016-7091
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-4h4j-rqc9-6rq3
References
Patch 1
Advisory 1
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- TI-2014-05975 GNU Bash through 4.3 bash43-025 processes trailing strings after certain malformed… KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2014-05157 GNU Bash through 4.3 processes trailing strings after function definitions in the values… KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2025-23530 Sudo before 1.9.17p1 allows local users to obtain root access because /etc/nsswitch.conf… KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.3
- TI-2021-17490 mod_proxy SSRF KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.0
Sources
- CVE-2016-7091 · CVE Program
- CVE-2016-7091 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-4h4j-rqc9-6rq3 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2016-7091 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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