Is CVE-2019-13272 being actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2019-13272 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, added on December 10, 2021.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2019-13272?

CVE-2019-13272 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH).

CVE-2019-13272

HIGH · CVSS 7.8CISA KEV: actively exploitedEPSS 52.2%EU EUVD: exploited

In the Linux kernel before 5.1.17, ptrace_link in kernel/ptrace.c mishandles the recording of the credentials of a process that wants to create a ptrace relationship, which allows local users to obtain root access by leveraging certain scenarios with a parent-child process relationship, where a parent drops privileges and calls execve (potentially allowing control by an attacker). One contributing factor is an object lifetime issue (which can also cause a panic). Another contributing factor is incorrect marking of a ptrace relationship as privileged, which is exploitable through (for example) Polkit's pkexec helper with PTRACE_TRACEME. NOTE: SELinux deny_ptrace might be a usable workaround in some environments.

Key facts

CVSS score: 7.8 (v3.1)
Severity: HIGH
CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS score: 52.2% (99th percentile)
In CISA KEV: Yes, added December 10, 2021
In EU EUVD: Yes (EUVD-2019-4779)
Published: July 17, 2019
NVD last modified: June 17, 2026
Status: Analyzed

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

Linux Kernel Improper Privilege Management Vulnerability

Added to the KEV catalog on December 10, 2021; federal remediation due June 10, 2022.

EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD)

This vulnerability is also tracked by ENISA as EUVD-2019-4779 in the EU Vulnerability Database. ENISA flags it as known exploited. Last updated in EUVD on October 21, 2025.

View on the EU Vulnerability Database

Affected products

canonical / ubuntu linux
canonical / ubuntu linux
canonical / ubuntu linux
debian / debian linux
debian / debian linux
debian / debian linux
fedoraproject / fedora
linux / linux kernel
netapp / active iq unified manager
netapp / aff a700s
netapp / aff a700s firmware
netapp / e-series performance analyzer
netapp / e-series santricity os controller
netapp / h410c
netapp / h410c firmware
netapp / h610s
netapp / h610s firmware
netapp / hci compute node
netapp / hci management node
netapp / service processor
netapp / solidfire
netapp / steelstore cloud integrated storage
redhat / enterprise linux
redhat / enterprise linux
redhat / enterprise linux for arm 64
redhat / enterprise linux for ibm z systems
redhat / enterprise linux for real time
redhat / enterprise linux for real time for nfv
redhat / enterprise linux for real time for nfv tus
redhat / enterprise linux for real time for nfv tus
redhat / enterprise linux for real time for nfv tus
redhat / enterprise linux for real time for nfv tus
redhat / enterprise linux for real time tus
redhat / enterprise linux for real time tus
redhat / enterprise linux for real time tus
redhat / enterprise linux for real time tus

Certified products that may be affected

25 FIPS 140 or Common Criteria certified products, from automated matching by sec-certs.org.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 NSS Cryptographic Module - Red Hat, Inc. - FIPS 140 5513 - active
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Kernel Cryptographic API - Red Hat, LLC - FIPS 140 5461 - active
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Kernel Cryptographic API - Red Hat, Inc. - FIPS 140 5089 - active
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 - Red Hat, Inc. - Common Criteria CCEVS-VR-VID-11309-2024 - archived
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 OpenSSL Cryptographic Module - Red Hat®, Inc. - FIPS 140 4642 - historical

See all 25 in the Security Certifications Explorer.

References

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/153663/Linux-PTRACE_TRACEME-Broken-Permission-Object-Lifetime-Handling.html(Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/153702/Slackware-Security-Advisory-Slackware-14.2-kernel-Updates.html(Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154245/Kernel-Live-Patch-Security-Notice-LSN-0054-1.html(Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154957/Linux-Polkit-pkexec-Helper-PTRACE_TRACEME-Local-Root.html(Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/156929/Linux-PTRACE_TRACEME-Local-Root.html(Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/165051/Linux-Kernel-5.1.x-PTRACE_TRACEME-pkexec-Local-Privilege-Escalation.html(Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2405(Third Party Advisory)
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2411(Third Party Advisory)
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2809(Third Party Advisory)
https://bugs.chromium.org/p/project-zero/issues/detail?id=1903(Exploit, Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory)
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1730895(Issue Tracking, Patch)
https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1140671(Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory)
https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.1.17(Patch, Vendor Advisory)
https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=6994eefb0053799d2e07cd140df6c2ea106c41ee(Patch, Vendor Advisory)
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/6994eefb0053799d2e07cd140df6c2ea106c41ee(Patch)
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/07/msg00022.html(Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/07/msg00023.html(Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/OGRK5LYWBJ4E4SRI4DKX367NHYSI3VOH/(Release Notes)
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Jul/30(Issue Tracking, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Jul/33(Issue Tracking, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190806-0001/(Third Party Advisory)
https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K91025336(Third Party Advisory)
https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K91025336?utm_source=f5support&amp%3Butm_medium=RSS(Third Party Advisory)
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4093-1/(Third Party Advisory)
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4094-1/(Third Party Advisory)
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4095-1/(Third Party Advisory)
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4117-1/(Third Party Advisory)
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4118-1/(Third Party Advisory)
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2019-13272(US Government Resource)
https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4484(Third Party Advisory)

Last updated September 17, 2026 · Source: NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org EPSS

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