High severity · published Feb 6, 2026
CVE-2026-23741
Asterisk is an open source private branch exchange and telephony toolkit
8.8
CVSS
0.2%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
Asterisk is an open source private branch exchange and telephony toolkit. Prior to versions 20.7-cert9, 20.18.2, 21.12.1, 22.8.2, and 23.2.2, the asterisk/contrib/scripts/ast_coredumper runs as root, as noted by the NOTES tag on line 689 of the ast_coredumper file. The script will source the contents of /etc/asterisk/ast_debug_tools.conf, which resides in a folder that is writeable by the asterisk user:group. Due to the /etc/asterisk/ast_debug_tools.conf file following bash semantics and it being loaded; an attacker with write permissions may add or modify the file such that when the root ast_coredumper is run; it would source and thereby execute arbitrary bash code found in the /etc/asterisk/ast_debug_tools.conf. This issue has been patched in versions 20.7-cert9, 20.18.2, 21.12.1, 22.8.2, and 23.2.2.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.2% · higher than 11% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
AS
Asterisk · Sangoma
before 20.18.2; 21.0.0 before 21.12.1; 22.0.0 before 22.8.2; 23.0.0 before 23.2.2 · source: NVD
CA
Certified Asterisk · Sangoma
through 18.9; 20.7; 20.7; 20.7; 20.7; 20.7; +5 more · source: NVD
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23741
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23741
Vendor Advisory
https://github.com/asterisk/asterisk/security/advisories/GHSA-rvch-3jmx-3jf3
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Asterisk is an open source private branch exchange and telephony toolkit