CVE-2025-1131 — Asterisk Unsafe Shell Sourcing in safe_asterisk Leads to Local Privilege Escalation
A local privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the safe_asterisk script included with the Asterisk toolkit package. When Asterisk is started via this script (common in SysV init or FreePBX environments), it sources all .sh files located in /etc/asterisk/startup.d/ as root, without validating ownership or permissions. Non-root users with legitimate write access to /etc/asterisk can exploit this behaviour by placing malicious scripts in the startup.d directory, which will then execute with root privileges upon service restart.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- EPSS 0.2% (30-day exploitation probability)+2
- Technical severity (high)+6
- CISA SSVC: exploitation "poc"+5
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
CISA SSVC assessment CISA
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Asterisk Asterisk, Sangoma Asterisk, Sangoma Certified Asterisk).
- No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
- Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (file handling), errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asterisk | Asterisk | version Asterisk <= 22.5.0version Asterisk <= 21.10.0version Asterisk <= 20.15.0version Asterisk <=18.26.2 | Vulnerable | CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| Sangoma | Asterisk | ≥ 20.0.0 and < 20.15.1< 18.26.3≥ 21.0.0 and < 21.10.1≥ 22.0.0 and < 22.5.1 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Sangoma | Certified Asterisk |
version 18.9-cert8-rc1version 18.9-cert1version 20.7-cert6version 20.7-cert5version 20.7-cert4version 20.7-cert3version 20.7-cert2version 20.7-cert1-rc2 and 18 moreversion 20.7-cert1-rc1version 20.7-cert1version 18.9-cert9version 18.9-cert8-rc2version 18.9-cert1-rc1version 18.9-cert8version 18.9-cert7version 18.9-cert6version 18.9-cert5version 18.9-cert4version 18.9-cert3version 18.9-cert2version 18.9-cert15version 18.9-cert14version 18.9-cert13version 18.9-cert12version 18.9-cert11version 18.9-cert10 |
Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.0 | CVSS 4.0 | High | — | — | b7efe717-a805-47cf-8e9a-921fca0ce0ce via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 7.0 | CVSS 4.0 | High | — | — | Gridware via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 1.8 | 5.9 | nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
EPSS over time FIRST
Oct 19, 2026 → Oct 20, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.22%
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
- Monitor file creation in web directories and paths with traversal sequences (../).
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · asterisk/asterisk
- SSVC assessment updated
- Record published
- Affected products added · sangoma/asterisk, sangoma/certified asterisk
- CVSS changed · 7.8
- Source status changed · → Modified
- Record created in this database
- 2025
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 1× References added · Oct 19, 2026 – Oct 19, 2026
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 19, 2026 – Oct 19, 2026
References
2 on the record
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- Medium CVE-2026-23738 The Asterisk embedded web server 's /httpstatus page echos user supplied values(cookie and query string) without sanitization Feb 6, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-23739 Asterisk xml.c uses unsafe XML_PARSE_NOENT leading to potential XXE Injection Feb 6, 2026
- High CVE-2026-23740 Asterisk vulnerable to potential privilege escalation Feb 6, 2026
- High CVE-2026-23741 ast_coredumper running as root sources ast_debug_tools.conf from /etc/asterisk; potentially leading to privilege escalation Feb 6, 2026
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2025-1131 is "Asterisk Unsafe Shell Sourcing in safe_asterisk Leads to Local Privilege Escalation", rated High. It affects Asterisk (Asterisk); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 7.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.22% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
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