Root Escalation via GroupWritable /etc/passwd in OSUS
CVE-2025-57854 Published on April 8, 2026

Osus-operator: privilege escalation via excessive /etc/passwd permissions
A container privilege escalation flaw was found in certain OpenShift Update Service (OSUS) images. This issue stems from the /etc/passwd file being created with group-writable permissions during build time. In certain conditions, an attacker who can execute commands within an affected container, even as a non-root user, may be able to leverage their membership in the root group to modify the /etc/passwd file. This could allow the attacker to add a new user with any arbitrary UID, including UID 0, leading to full root privileges within the container.

NVD

Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2025-57854 is exploitable with local system access, and requires user privileges. This vulnerability is consided to have a high level of attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to be very high.

Attack Vector:
LOCAL
Attack Complexity:
HIGH
Privileges Required:
HIGH
User Interaction:
NONE
Scope:
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact:
HIGH
Integrity Impact:
HIGH
Availability Impact:
HIGH

Timeline

Reported to Red Hat.

Made public. 225 days later.

Weakness Type

Incorrect Default Permissions

During installation, installed file permissions are set to allow anyone to modify those files.


Products Associated with CVE-2025-57854

Want to know whenever a new CVE is published for Red Hat Openshift Update Service? stack.watch will email you.

Red Hat Openshift Update Service
 

Affected Versions

Red Hat OpenShift Update Service: