Code Injection in needrestart - CVE-2024-48990
Published: November 27, 2024 / Updated: January 4, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU100982
CSH Severity: Low
CVSS v4: 8.5 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2024-48990
CWE-ID: CWE-94
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability:
The vulnerability is being exploited in the wild
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.
The vulnerability exists due to insecure handling of environment variables. A local user can trick the application into running the Python interpreter with an attacker-controlled PYTHONPATH environment variable and execute arbitrary code on the system as root.
Affected software
needrestart
Debian Linux
Gentoo Linux
Fedora
Ubuntu
needrestart (Ubuntu package)
needrestart (Debian package)
app-admin/needrestart
needrestart
OpenManage Network Integration (OMNI)
Debian Linux
Gentoo Linux
Fedora
Ubuntu
needrestart (Ubuntu package)
needrestart (Debian package)
app-admin/needrestart
needrestart
OpenManage Network Integration (OMNI)
How to mitigate CVE-2024-48990
Install updates from vendor's website.
needrestart - update to 3.8
needrestart (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions Ubuntu Pro, 3.5-5ubuntu2.3, 3.5-5ubuntu2.4, 3.6-7ubuntu4.4, 3.6-7ubuntu4.5, 3.6-8ubuntu4.3, 3.6-8ubuntu4.4
needrestart (Debian package) - update to 3.6-4+deb12u2
OpenManage Network Integration (OMNI) - update to 3.7
app-admin/needrestart - update to 3.8
needrestart - addressed in versions 3.8-1.el8, 3.8-1.el9, 3.8-1.fc39, 3.8-1.fc40, 3.8-1.fc41
needrestart (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions Ubuntu Pro, 3.5-5ubuntu2.3, 3.5-5ubuntu2.4, 3.6-7ubuntu4.4, 3.6-7ubuntu4.5, 3.6-8ubuntu4.3, 3.6-8ubuntu4.4
needrestart (Debian package) - update to 3.6-4+deb12u2
OpenManage Network Integration (OMNI) - update to 3.7
app-admin/needrestart - update to 3.8
needrestart - addressed in versions 3.8-1.el8, 3.8-1.el9, 3.8-1.fc39, 3.8-1.fc40, 3.8-1.fc41
Links to Public Exploits and PoC-codes
- Exploit #12247 - needrestart-privesc-cve-2024-48990 (Local privilege escalation exploit for needrestart (CVE-2024-48990)) (January 4, 2026)
- Exploit #12057 - CVE-2024-48990-Automatic-Exploit (October 31, 2025)
- Exploit #11048 - Ubuntu needrestart Privilege Escalation (January 10, 2025)
- Exploit #10929 - exploits-poc (This repository contains PoC exploits we developed for internal research or red team exercises.) (November 29, 2024)
- Exploit #10922 - CVE-2024-48990-exploit (Needrestart, prior to version 3.8, contains a vulnerability that allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code with root privileges. This is achieved by manipulating the PYTHONPATH environment variable to trick needrestart into (November 29, 2024)
- Exploit #10914 - CVE-2024-48990 (November 29, 2024)
External References
Related Security Bulletins
- Multiple privilege escalation vulnerabilities in needrestart
- Debian update for needrestart
- Ubuntu update for needrestart
- Fedora EPEL 9 update for needrestart
- Fedora EPEL 8 update for needrestart
- Fedora 40 update for needrestart
- Fedora 41 update for needrestart
- Fedora 39 update for needrestart
- Ubuntu update for needrestart
- Multiple vulnerabilities in Dell OpenManage Network Integration (OMNI)
- Gentoo update for needrestart