CVE-2025-14338
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedPolkit authentication dis isabled by default and a race condition in the Polkit authorization check in versions before v0.69.0 can lead to the same issues as in CVE-2025-66005.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidencePolkit versions before v0.69.0 have authentication disabled by default and contain a race condition in the authorization check that can be exploited to bypass privilege elevation controls, similar to CVE-2025-66005. This allows local attackers to gain elevated privileges through improper authorization checks.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- Authentication
- X
- User interaction
- P
- Scope
- X
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Determine installed Polkit versionRun `pkctl --version` or check the package manager (e.g., `rpm -q polkit`, `dpkg -l polkit`)Affected if Version is before v0.69.0 (e.g., v0.120, v0.118, etc.)
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Check polkitd service versionRun `polkitd --version` if available, or inspect the polkitd binary with `polkitd --version`Affected if Version string shows a release before v0.69.0
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Inspect authentication configurationCheck /etc/polkit-1/*.pkla files or /usr/share/polkit-1/actions/*.policy files for AnyOtherUser or implicit authorization settings that may allow unauthenticated accessAffected if Configuration allows authentication bypass or has no authentication requirement for privileged actions
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Verify polkitd process is runningCheck if polkitd daemon is active with `systemctl status polkit` or `ps aux | grep polkitd`Affected if Polkit is running and version is vulnerable (before v0.69.0)
The environment is affected if polkit version is below v0.69.0 and the polkit daemon is in use, regardless of configuration, due to the inherent race condition in the authorization check.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade Polkit to version v0.69.0 or later to address the race condition and re-enable proper authentication by default.
polkit v0.69.0 or later
- 1. Identify the current version of polkit installed on the system using the package manager or `polkit --version`
- 2. If the installed version is before v0.69.0, upgrade to polkit v0.69.0 or later
- 3. For Debian/Ubuntu-based systems: run `sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install policykit-1`
- 4. For Red Hat/Fedora-based systems: run `sudo dnf update polkit`
- 5. For SUSE/openSUSE systems: run `sudo zypper update polkit`
- 6. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the new version with `polkit --version`
- 7. Restart any services that depend on polkit, or reboot the system to ensure the new version is fully operational
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-14338 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-14338 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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