# CVE-2018-7169: login: An issue was discovered in shadow 4.5

CVE-2018-7169 is fixed in 3 products on 1 platform, first by login 1:4.5-1ubuntu2.2, released February 15, 2018. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: Routine.

- Web page: https://patchblox.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-7169
- Priority: Routine
- CVSS: n/a (Low)
- EPSS: 0.0157
- CISA KEV: not listed
- Exploited (vendor report): no
- Publicly disclosed: no
- Published: Feb 15, 2018

## Description

An issue was discovered in shadow 4.5. newgidmap (in shadow-utils) is setuid and allows an unprivileged user to be placed in a user namespace where setgroups(2) is permitted. This allows an attacker to remove themselves from a supplementary group, which may allow access to certain filesystem paths if the administrator has used "group blacklisting" (e.g., chmod g-rwx) to restrict access to paths. This flaw effectively reverts a security feature in the kernel (in particular, the /proc/self/setgroups knob) to prevent this sort of privilege escalation.

## Where it's fixed

| Platform | Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | login Ubuntu 18.04.6 LTS (bionic) | 1:4.5-1ubuntu2.2 | [login 1:4.5-1ubuntu2.2](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-bionic-login-1-4.5-1ubuntu2.2.md) | Feb 15, 2018 |
| Linux | passwd Ubuntu 18.04.6 LTS (bionic) | 1:4.5-1ubuntu2.2 | [passwd 1:4.5-1ubuntu2.2](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-bionic-passwd-1-4.5-1ubuntu2.2.md) | Feb 15, 2018 |
| Linux | uidmap Ubuntu 18.04.6 LTS (bionic) | 1:4.5-1ubuntu2.2 | [uidmap 1:4.5-1ubuntu2.2](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/ubuntu-bionic-uidmap-1-4.5-1ubuntu2.2.md) | Feb 15, 2018 |

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Data as of 2026-11-07T12:40:37Z UTC. Source: Patchblox Patch Radar (https://patchblox.com/security/patch-radar). Patchblox finds out-of-date software on Windows, macOS and Linux and updates it through release rings: https://patchblox.com/demo