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CVE-2026-12505

HIGH 7.8

Published 2026-06-18 · Last modified 2026-07-15

A flaw was found in the cifs-utils package where the cifs.upcall helper fails to securely drop its root privileges before looking up user information inside a user-controlled environment. A local, low privileged attacker can exploit this by using a crafted request_key payload to trick the root-owned helper into entering a custom environment (namespace) containing a malicious NSS module. This forces the system to load the attacker's controlled NSS Module and configuration, allowing them to execute arbitrary commands as the root user, elevating their privileges and fully compromising the system.

ELEVATED IMPACT

Severe if exploited (CVSS 7.8), but no known exploitation and low modeled probability. Patch on a normal cadence.

Exploitation likelihood

0.1%chance of exploitation in 30 days · 2nd percentile

○ In CISA KEV ○ Public exploit / PoC

Impact if exploited

7.8CVSS 3.1 · HIGH

  • ConfidentialityHigh
  • IntegrityHigh
  • AvailabilityHigh

What an attacker needs

  • ⚠Access: Requires local access to the host
  • ⚠Privileges: Requires a low-privilege account
  • ✓User interaction: No user interaction needed
  • ✓Complexity: No special conditions — reliably repeatable

✓ lowers the bar for an attacker · ⚠ raises it

Proof of concept & exploit code

Test against your own equipment

curl -s https://vulnpedia.com/cve/CVE-2026-12505/poc.jsonMachine-readable PoC index for this CVE (for automation).

Listed for defensive triage, patch verification, and authorized testing on systems you own. Machine-readable: /cve/CVE-2026-12505/poc.json

Affected

Vendors Red Hat

Products Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Red Hat Openshift Container Platform 4

Weakness (CWE)

  • CWE-250: Execution with Unnecessary Privileges

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

All CVSS metrics

  • HIGH 7.8 v3.1 · CNA Primary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
  • HIGH 7.8 v3.1 · ADP Primary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
  • HIGH 7.8 v3.1 · NVD Secondary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References

Advisories

Technical & other

Sources: NVD · CVE.org · EPSS