Improper privilege management in authd - CVE-2025-5689
Published: June 16, 2025 / Updated: April 24, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU111163
CSH Severity: High
CVSS v4.0: 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/E:U/U:Amber
CVE-ID: CVE-2025-5689
CWE-ID: CWE-269
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vendor: Canonical Ltd.
Affected software:
authd
authd
Detailed vulnerability description
The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.
The vulnerability exists due to improper privilege management for newly created accounts. When a user who hasn't logged in to the system before (i.e. doesn't exist in the authd user database) logs in via SSH, the user is considered a member of the root group in the context of the SSH session.
How to mitigate CVE-2025-5689
Install updates from vendor's website.