Loading vulnerability…
CVE-2015-3246 is a race condition vulnerability in libuser (prior to 0.56.13-8 and 0.60-7), as used by the userhelper program in the usermode package on Red Hat-based Linux distributions. The vulnerability arises because libuser directly modifies /etc/passwd without proper locking, allowing local attackers to exploit the inconsistent file state during modification. By manipulating the GECOS field and process resource limits, an attacker can inject arbitrary lines into /etc/passwd, potentially creating a root-privileged account. This issue can be combined with CVE-2015-3245 for reliable exploitation.
Mallory correlates every CVE against your assets, your vendors, and active adversary campaigns. Know which vulnerabilities matter for you, not just which ones are loud.
What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.
What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.
If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.
Patch, then assume compromise.
1 valid exploit after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos (1 hidden).
This repository contains a single Metasploit module: 'libuser_roothelper_priv_esc.rb', which exploits a newline injection vulnerability in libuser/userhelper (CVE-2015-3245, CVE-2015-3246) on Red Hat-based Linux systems (RHEL, Fedora, CentOS). The exploit works by uploading and compiling (or dropping a precompiled) C exploit (roothelper.c) to the target, which creates a new root user in /etc/passwd. The module then uploads and executes a Metasploit payload as root, providing privilege escalation. The exploit requires a valid user password and a writable directory (default: /tmp). The module also attempts to clean up by removing the created user from /etc/passwd after exploitation. The code is written in Ruby and is structured as a standard Metasploit local exploit module, making use of Metasploit's APIs for file operations, payload generation, and session management. The main fingerprintable endpoints are the /etc/passwd and /usr/sbin/userhelper files, and the attack vector is local privilege escalation.
Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.
Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.
1 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.