A vulnerability in the Linux sudo command has been discovered that could allow unprivileged users to execute commands as root. Thankfully, this vulnerability only works in non-standard configurations and most Linux servers are unaffected. The vulnerability can only work if a user was given access to a command via the sudoers configuration file. This attack can be used to launch a root shell that can then execute any command you want on the compromised system. For example, VIM can be launched as root using the -u command to launch as the user ‘bleeping-test’
Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/linux/linux-sudo-bug-lets-you-run-commands-as-root-most-installs-unaffected/