CVE-2022-21944

watchman: chown in [email protected] unit allows symlink attack

HIGH
7.8
CVSS Score
Published: January 26, 2022 at 09:10 AM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 04:27 AM UTC
3 products affected across 1 vendorFactory WatchmanBackports SleFactory· also runs on 1 platform

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Severity
HIGH7.8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.3%

Description

A UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following vulnerability in the systemd service file for watchman of openSUSE Backports SLE-15-SP3, Factory allows local attackers to escalate to root. This issue affects: openSUSE Backports SLE-15-SP3 watchman versions prior to 4.9.0. openSUSE Factory watchman versions prior to 4.9.0-9.1.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v ≤ 4.9.1
suse-suse-linux-enterprise-server (environment)
watchman ≤ v < 4.9.0watchman
Affected range stops below 4.9.0, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
watchman ≤ v < 4.9.0-9.1watchman
Affected range stops below 4.9.0-9.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Runs on — not affected

The affected product only carries this flaw when running on these platforms. The platforms themselves are not vulnerable.

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

References (1)

CVSS

7.8HIGHsuse
Attack Vector
LOCAL
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-59

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