Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in Util-Linux Software by Red Hat
CVE-2026-78408

7.9HIGH

Key Information:

Vendor

Red Hat
Status
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Vendor
CVE Published:
2 September 2026

What is CVE-2026-78408?

The vulnerability in Util-Linux arises from the nsenter --join-cgroup option, which improperly manages the opening of the target cgroup.procs file as root. This flaw creates a security risk as it allows an attacker-controlled target to inherit permissions from the original open, leading to unauthorized process manipulation. Consequently, an unprivileged user can leverage this weakness to migrate and terminate unrelated root processes, posing a significant threat to system integrity.

References

https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-78408
vdb-entryx_refsource_REDHAT
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2522497
issue-trackingx_refsource_REDHAT
https://github.com/util-linux/util-linux/security/advisor...

CVSS V3.1

Score:
7.9
Severity:
HIGH
Confidentiality:
None
Integrity:
High
Availability:
None
Attack Vector:
Local
Attack Complexity:
Low
Privileges Required:
Low
User Interaction:
Required
Scope:
Changed

Timeline

  • Vulnerability published

  • Vulnerability Reserved

Credit

Red Hat would like to thank Andreas Gabriel Berbescu (Independent Security Researcher) for reporting this issue.
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