CVE-2024-5742 | Nano: running `chmod` and `chown` on the filename allows malicious user to replace the emergency file with a malicious symlink to a root-owned file

A vulnerability was found in GNU Nano that allows a possible privilege escalation through an insecure temporary file. If Nano is killed while editing, a file it saves to an emergency file with the permissions of the running user provides a window of opportunity for attackers to escalate privileges through a malicious symlink.

Published: 2024-06-12 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2024-5742 is rated Low Risk (36.2/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.34%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2024-5742

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.05% 0.34% +0.29%
2 2025-07-16 0.04% 0.05% +0.02%
3 2025-03-21 — 0.04% —

Full EPSS history (5 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2024-5742

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.7 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 0.8 5.9 [email protected]
6.7 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 0.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2024-5742

OS Trackers for CVE-2024-5742

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2024-5742 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (nano), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2024-5742
redhat low — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-5742
suse medium CVE-2024-5742 severity moderate: SUSE including 8 source package names (nano-2.9.8-3.el8_10, nano-5.6.1-6.el9, …), 12 product×package rows across 7 product lines (SUSE Liberty Linux 8, SUSE Liberty Linux 9, … (7 product lines)): Fixed 12. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-5742/
ubuntu low CVE-2024-5742 low priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (nano), 9 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, mantic, noble, oracular, trusty, upstream, xenial): released 7, ignored 1, not-affected 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2024-5742

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2024-5742

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
gnu nano >= 2.2.0, < 8.0 cpe:2.3:a:gnu:nano:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux 6.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux 8.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux 9.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2024-5742

cvelogic Threat Intelligence