CVE-2026-96512 HIGH

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

Vendor Red Hat
Product Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
Weakness CWE-863 · Incorrect authorization
Published September 23, 2026
Last update September 24, 2026

CVSS base score

7.8/10
Attack vector Local
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required Low
User interaction None
Confidentiality High
Integrity High

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

What the vulnerability does

01Description

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.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

September 23, 2026 CVE published
September 24, 2026 Record updated

Related vulnerabilities

04Related CVE