Core OS authentication component with widespread Linux deployment; auth bypass could escalate privileges.
CVE-2025-14338
Polkit race condition allows authentication bypass (pre-0.69.0).
Is CVE-2025-14338 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2025-14338 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 0.23% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2025-14338?
CVE-2025-14338 is rated High with a CVSS score of 8.5. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2025-14338?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2025-14338. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2025-14338 affect?
CVE-2025-14338 affects Polkit/PolicyKit <= 0.68, Linux distributions with Polkit < 0.69.0. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2025-14338?
Upgrade Polkit to 0.69.0 or later
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
Local privilege escalation via Polkit auth bypass; attacker on host gains elevated privileges.
Patch when possible
- affected>= ? and < 0.63.0
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.