CVE-2021-3560It was found that polkit could be tricked into bypassing the credential checks for D-Bus requests, elevating the privileges of the requestor to the root user.
Updated under an hour ago ()
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It affects polkit_project polkit and 5 other products. Add what you run to find out whether that includes you.
CISA lists it as known exploited since May 12, 2023; federal agencies had to remediate by Jun 2, 2023. Treat that date as your deadline.
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It was found that polkit could be tricked into bypassing the credential checks for D-Bus requests, elevating the privileges of the requestor to the root user. This flaw could be used by an unprivileged local attacker to, for example, create a new local administrator. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality and integrity as well as system availability.
- CVSS
- 7.8 HIGH (v3.1, CISA ADP)CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Weakness (CWE)
- CWE-863
- Known exploited
- Added to CISA KEV May 12, 2023; federal remediation due Jun 2, 2023Apply updates per vendor instructions.
- EPSS (exploitation in the next 30 days)
- 23.71% (percentile 98)
- Assigned by
- redhat
- NVD analysis
- Analyzed
- Record last updated
- Oct 21, 2025
- First seen by InfoSec Signals
- Oct 9, 2026
Affected products
polkit_project polkit polkit_project:polkit | before 0.119 | NVD |
debian debian_linux debian:debian_linux | 11.0 | NVD |
canonical ubuntu_linux canonical:ubuntu_linux | 20.04 | NVD |
redhat virtualization redhat:virtualization | 4.0 | NVD |
redhat virtualization_host redhat:virtualization_host | 4.0 | NVD |
redhat openshift_container_platform redhat:openshift_container_platform | 4.7 | NVD |
References
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1961710issue-tracking, patch, vendor-advisory
- https://github.blog/2021-06-10-privilege-escalation-polkit-root-on-linux-with-bug/exploit, third-party-advisory
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/172836/polkit-Authentication-Bypass.htmlthird-party-advisory, vdb-entry
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/172846/Facebook-Fizz-Denial-Of-Service.htmlthird-party-advisory, vdb-entry
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-3560us-government-resource
The CVE record on cve.org NVD's entry
The CVE record is authoritative. Products marked “from the name” were identified from the CNA's free-text names, not a CPE, and are matched less certainly. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.