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Vulnerability · Published Sep 23, 2026 · Assigned by redhat

CVE-2026-96512Sudo: sudo: tz environment variable allows bypass of notbefore/notafter time-based authorization

High 7.8

In plain English

A high-severity incorrect authorization in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 from Red Hat. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.3% (higher than 25% of all known vulnerabilities). Ready-made attack tooling exists: public proof-of-concept code. Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS 3.1)7.8High
Exploit odds (30 days)0.3%top 74.8% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none
Attack tooling1Public PoC

Official description

A flaw was found in sudo. When sudoers rules use NOTBEFORE or NOTAFTER time-based access restrictions with timestamps that omit the trailing 'Z' timezone indicator, the time evaluation relies on the TZ environment variable inherited from the calling user. Because sudo is a setuid-root program, an unprivileged local user can set TZ to an extreme timezone offset to shift the authorization window by up to approximately 25 hours, causing expired rules to be treated as valid. This allows the user to execute commands outside the intended time window. Authentication is not bypassed; only the time-based authorization check is affected.

Affected packages & fixed versions

EcosystemPackageFixed inAdvisory
AlmaLinux:10sudo1.9.17-10.p2.el10_2.7ALSA-2026:75579
AlmaLinux:8sudo1.9.5p2-2.el8_10ALSA-2026:75580
AlmaLinux:9sudo1.9.17p2-3.el9_8.3ALSA-2026:75571
AlmaLinux:10sudo-python-plugin1.9.17-10.p2.el10_2.7ALSA-2026:75579
AlmaLinux:9sudo-python-plugin1.9.17p2-3.el9_8.3ALSA-2026:75571
Alpine:v3.24sudo1.9.17_p2-r2ALPINE-CVE-2026-96512
Debian:12sudono fix listedDEBIAN-CVE-2026-96512
Debian:13sudono fix listedDEBIAN-CVE-2026-96512
Debian:14sudo1.9.17p2-9DEBIAN-CVE-2026-96512
Rocky Linux:10sudo0:1.9.17-10.p2.el10_2.7RLSA-2026:75579
Rocky Linux:8sudo0:1.9.5p2-2.el8_10RLSA-2026:75580
Rocky Linux:9sudo0:1.9.17p2-3.el9_8.3RLSA-2026:75571
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSsudo1.9.9-1ubuntu2.7UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96512
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSsudo1.9.9-1ubuntu2.7USN-8895-1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSsudo1.9.15p5-3ubuntu5.24.04.4UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96512
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSsudo1.9.15p5-3ubuntu5.24.04.4USN-8895-1
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSsudo1.9.17p2-1ubuntu3.2USN-8895-1
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSsudo1.9.17p2-1ubuntu3.2UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96512

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 see references
Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support see references
Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Extended Lifecycle Support see references
Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 see references
Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support see references
Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On see references
Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support see references
Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On see references
Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Telecommunications Update Service see references
Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Update Services for SAP Solutions see references
Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 see references
Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 see references
Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Update Services for SAP Solutions see references
Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 Update Services for SAP Solutions see references
Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.6 Extended Update Support see references
Red Hat Red Hat Hardened Images see references
Red Hat Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.0 see references
Red Hat Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.4 see references
Red Hat Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.4 see references
Red Hat Red Hat Update Infrastructure 5 see references
Red Hat Red Hat Update Infrastructure 5 see references

Weakness: CWE-863 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References