---
id: CVE-2024-5742
title: >-
  A vulnerability was found in GNU Nano that allows a possible privilege
  escalation through an insecure temporary file
summary: >-
  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…
severity: medium
cvss: 6.7
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-59
vendor: gnu
product: nano
affected:
  - 'nano >= 2.2.0, < 8.0'
  - enterprise_linux = 6.0
  - enterprise_linux = 7.0
  - enterprise_linux = 8.0
  - enterprise_linux = 9.0
patched:
  - nano 8.0
published: '2024-06-12'
updated: '2026-10-15'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-15T01:19:18.190'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-5742'
references:
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:6986'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:9430'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-5742'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2278574'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-5742'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2278574'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/06/msg00006.html'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-398330.html'
    label: 0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00344
epssPercentile: 0.27784
ingestedAt: '2026-10-15T03:30:12.703Z'
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: total
  timestamp: '2024-10-07T20:27:39.384448Z'
---

## Overview

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.

## Affected

- `nano >= 2.2.0, < 8.0`
- `enterprise_linux = 6.0`
- `enterprise_linux = 7.0`
- `enterprise_linux = 8.0`
- `enterprise_linux = 9.0`

## Remediation

Upgrade past the affected range:

- `nano 8.0`