The Binary Switcheroo: Turning a KDE File Manager Into a Local Privilege Escalation

Thu, 15 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“When you want to know how things really work, study them when they’re coming apart.” — William Gibson

How I Got Here

In late 2024 I scoped out an engagement for Radically Open Security targeting kio-admin — the KDE component that gives Dolphin (KDE’s file manager) the ability to perform file operations as root. The proposal was straightforward:

Code audit and pentesting of Dolphin authorisation mechanisms as they are provided by kio-admin and kio framework.

Race-Condition on harpi - Security Researcher

The Binary Switcheroo: Turning a KDE File Manager Into a Local Privilege Escalation

How I Got Here