Description
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.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | polkit | polkit 0.119 | — |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | policykit-1 | 0.105-31 | — |
| Debian 13 | policykit-1 | 0.105-31 | — |
| Debian 12 | policykit-1 | 0.105-31 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | policykit-1 | 0.105-31 | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | policykit-1 | 0.105-26ubuntu1.1 | USN-4980-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 8 | polkit +3 | 0.115-11.el8_4.1 | RHSA-2021:2238 |
Show 4 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Rhev Hypervisor 4 | redhat-virtualization-host +1 | 4.4.6-20210615.0.el8_4 | RHSA-2021:2522 |
| RHEL 8.2 EUS | polkit +3 | 0.115-11.el8_2.1 | RHSA-2021:2237 |
| RHEL 8.1 EUS | polkit +3 | 0.115-9.el8_1.1 | RHSA-2021:2236 |
| Red Hat OpenShift 4 | cri-o | 1.20.3-6.rhaos4.7.git0d0f863.el7 | RHSA-2021:2555 |
| Red Hat OpenShift 4 | dhcp +3 | 12:4.3.6-41.el8_3.1 | RHSA-2021:2555 |
| Red Hat OpenShift 4 | openshift-clients +1 | 4.7.0-202106252127.p0.git.8b4b094.el7 | RHSA-2021:2555 |
| Red Hat OpenShift 4 | openshift-kuryr +4 | 4.7.0-202106232224.p0.git.c7654fb.el8 | RHSA-2021:2555 |
| Red Hat OpenShift 4 | polkit +1 | 0.115-11.el8_3.2 | RHSA-2021:2555 |
Rocky Linux
Errata ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Linux 8 | polkit | 0.115-11.el8_4.1 | RLSA-2021:2238 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP3 | polkit | 0.116-3.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1843-1 |
| SLES 15 SP2 | polkit | 0.116-3.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1843-1 |
| SLES 15 SP1 | polkit | 0.114-3.12.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1844-1 |
| SLES 15 | polkit | 0.114-3.12.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1844-1 |
| SLES 12 SP5 | polkit | 0.113-5.21.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1842-1 |
Show 20 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 12 SP4 | polkit | 0.113-5.21.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1842-1 |
| SLES 12 SP3 | polkit | 0.113-5.21.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1842-1 |
| SLES 12 SP2 | polkit | 0.113-5.21.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1842-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP1 | polkit | 0.114-3.12.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1844-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 | polkit | 0.114-3.12.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1844-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP5 | polkit | 0.113-5.21.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1842-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP4 | polkit | 0.113-5.21.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1842-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP3 | polkit | 0.113-5.21.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1842-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.0 | polkit | 0.116-3.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1843-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP1 | polkit | 0.114-3.12.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1844-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 | polkit | 0.114-3.12.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1844-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 9 | polkit | 0.113-5.21.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1842-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 8 | polkit | 0.113-5.21.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1842-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 9 | polkit | 0.113-5.21.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1842-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 8 | polkit | 0.113-5.21.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1842-1 |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.0 | polkit | 0.114-3.12.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1844-1 |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.0 | polkit | 0.114-3.12.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1844-1 |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.0 | polkit | 0.114-3.12.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1844-1 |
| SUSE HPE Helion OpenStack 8 | polkit | 0.113-5.21.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1842-1 |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 6 | polkit | 0.114-3.12.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:1844-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | polkit | 0.118-7.2 | openSUSE-SU-2024:11180-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.3 | polkit | 0.116-3.3.1 | openSUSE-SU-2021:1843-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.2 | polkit | 0.116-lp152.2.3.1 | openSUSE-SU-2021:0838-1 |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.24 | polkit | 0.119-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.23 | polkit | 0.119-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.22 | polkit | 0.119-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.21 | polkit | 0.119-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.20 | polkit | 0.119-r0 | — |
Show 6 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.19 | polkit | 0.119-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.18 | polkit | 0.119-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.17 | polkit | 0.119-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.16 | polkit | 0.119-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.15 | polkit | 0.119-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.14 | polkit | 0.119-r0 | — |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 8 | polkit +3 | 0.115-11.0.1.el8_4.1 | ELSA-2021-2238 |
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
Third-party code, not reviewed by us. Public PoCs are sometimes fake or contain malware. Read the code first and run it only in an isolated lab, against systems you are authorised to test.
Metasploit 1 module
-
Polkit D-Bus Authentication Bypass
exploit/linux/local/polkit_dbus_auth_bypass
Exploit-DB 1
- Polkit 0.105-26 0.117-2 - Local Privilege Escalation EDB-50011 · local · Jun 15, 2021 · verified
GitHub 33 repositories · most starred shown
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secnigma/CVE-2021-3560-Polkit-Privilege-Esclation ★ 127 · Jun 14, 2021
-
Almorabea/Polkit-exploit ★ 125 · Jun 19, 2021
Privilege escalation with polkit - CVE-2021-3560
-
RicterZ/CVE-2021-3560-Authentication-Agent ★ 116 · Apr 29, 2022
PolicyKit CVE-2021-3560 Exploit (Authentication Agent)
-
swapravo/polkadots ★ 82 · Jun 11, 2021
CVE-2021-3560 Local PrivEsc Exploit
-
hakivvi/CVE-2021-3560 ★ 40 · Jun 12, 2021
a reliable C based exploit and writeup for CVE-2021-3560.
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winmin/CVE-2021-3560 ★ 25 · Apr 30, 2022
PolicyKit CVE-2021-3560 Exploitation (Authentication Agent)
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AssassinUKG/Polkit-CVE-2021-3560 ★ 24 · Jun 29, 2021
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UNICORDev/exploit-CVE-2021-3560 ★ 12 · May 2, 2022
Exploit for CVE-2021-3560 (Polkit) - Local Privilege Escalation
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chenaotian/CVE-2021-3560 ★ 9 · Jan 31, 2022
CVE-2021-3560 analysis
-
0dayNinja/CVE-2021-3560 ★ 9 · Jul 30, 2021
Polkit D-Bus Authentication Bypass Exploit
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Advisories 14
- RHSA-2021:2522 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Virtualization Host security update [ovirt-4.4.6] Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 15, 2026
- RHSA-2021:2555 Red Hat Security Advisory: OpenShift Container Platform 4.7.19 packages and security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Aug 7, 2026
- USN-4980-1 policykit-1 vulnerability Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Apr 22, 2026
- RLSA-2021:2238 Important: polkit security update Rocky Linux Security Advisories · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2021:1843-1 Security update for polkit SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2021:0838-1 Security update for polkit SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2021:1844-1 Security update for polkit SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:11180-1 libpolkit0-0.118-7.2 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2021:1843-1 Security update for polkit SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- RHSA-2021:2238 Red Hat Security Advisory: polkit security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Nov 22, 2025
- RHSA-2021:2237 Red Hat Security Advisory: polkit security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Nov 22, 2025
- RHSA-2021:2236 Red Hat Security Advisory: polkit security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Nov 22, 2025
- SUSE-SU-2021:1842-1 Security update for polkit SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 2, 2025
- ELSA-2021-2238 Important: polkit security update (Oracle Linux 8) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Jun 4, 2021