# CVE-2024-48990

Qualys discovered that needrestart, before version 3.8, allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code as root by tricking needrestart into running the Python interpreter with an attacker-controlled PYTHONPATH environment variable.

- Page: https://www.vulneraibility.com/cve/CVE-2024-48990
- CVSS: 7.8
- Known exploited: not in CISA KEV as of our last sync
- EPSS: 29.20% (percentile 98.2)
- Public exploit code: 1 Metasploit module · 19 GitHub proofs of concept (first 2024-11-20)
- CISA SSVC: exploitation none, automatable no, technical impact total (assessed 2024-11-19)
- Weakness: CWE-427
- Published: 2024-11-19

## Affected versions

- needrestart: affected < 3.8

A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected.

## References

- [other] https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-48990
- [patch] https://github.com/liske/needrestart/commit/fcc9a4401392231bef4ef5ed026a0d7a275149ab
- [advisory] https://www.qualys.com/2024/11/19/needrestart/needrestart.txt
- [other] https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/11/19/1
- [other] http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2024/Nov/17
- [other] https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/11/msg00014.html

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Summary, impact and action are written by the vulneraibility.com AI analysis pipeline from the CVE record, NVD, CISA and FIRST data; verify against the references.