Cockpit: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') in Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 (CVE-2026-4631)
Cockpit's remote login feature passes user-supplied hostnames and usernames from the web interface to the SSH client without validation or sanitization. An attacker with network access to the Cockpit web service can craft a single HTTP request to the login endpoint that injects malicious SSH options or shell commands, achieving code execution on the Cockpit host without valid credentials. The injection occurs during the authentication flow before any credential verification takes place, meaning no login is required to exploit the vulnerability.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
Cockpit, a web-based interface for administering GNU/Linux servers, contains a critical vulnerability identified as CVE-2026-4631. This vulnerability is due to SSH command-line argument injection caused by insufficiently explicit handling of hostnames on the command line within the cockpit-ws component. Exploitation allows unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems. Red Hat has issued security advisories and updated packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 across various architectures to remediate this issue.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability results in unauthenticated remote code execution with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Attackers can execute arbitrary commands remotely without any privileges, potentially leading to full system compromise on affected Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 systems running vulnerable Cockpit versions.
Mitigation Recommendations
Red Hat has released updated Cockpit packages that fix this vulnerability. Users should apply the security update RHSA-2026:7381 or later for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0, ensuring all prior errata are applied before updating. The vendor advisory provides detailed instructions for applying the update. No alternative mitigations are indicated; patching is the recommended and available remediation.
Cockpit: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') in Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 (CVE-2026-4631)
Description
Cockpit's remote login feature passes user-supplied hostnames and usernames from the web interface to the SSH client without validation or sanitization. An attacker with network access to the Cockpit web service can craft a single HTTP request to the login endpoint that injects malicious SSH options or shell commands, achieving code execution on the Cockpit host without valid credentials. The injection occurs during the authentication flow before any credential verification takes place, meaning no login is required to exploit the vulnerability.
CVSS v3.1
Score 9.8critical
Affected software
Run on your own infrastructure? Check whether these packages are installed with threat-finder — our free open-source scanner.
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
Cockpit, a web-based interface for administering GNU/Linux servers, contains a critical vulnerability identified as CVE-2026-4631. This vulnerability is due to SSH command-line argument injection caused by insufficiently explicit handling of hostnames on the command line within the cockpit-ws component. Exploitation allows unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems. Red Hat has issued security advisories and updated packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 across various architectures to remediate this issue.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability results in unauthenticated remote code execution with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Attackers can execute arbitrary commands remotely without any privileges, potentially leading to full system compromise on affected Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 systems running vulnerable Cockpit versions.
Mitigation Recommendations
Red Hat has released updated Cockpit packages that fix this vulnerability. Users should apply the security update RHSA-2026:7381 or later for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0, ensuring all prior errata are applied before updating. The vendor advisory provides detailed instructions for applying the update. No alternative mitigations are indicated; patching is the recommended and available remediation.
Technical Details
- Gcve Source
- db.gcve.eu
- Csaf Category
- csaf_security_advisory
- Csaf Version
- 2.0
- Publisher
- Red Hat Product Security
- Advisory Id
- RHSA-2026:7384
- Cve Count
- 1
- Additional Cves
- []
- Cvss Version
- null
Threat ID: 6a3da1be4853345fc181bd02
Added to database: 06/25/2026, 21:46:38 UTC
Last enriched: 07/12/2026, 11:47:59 UTC
Last updated: 07/31/2026, 19:22:59 UTC
Views: 79
Community Reviews
0 reviewsCrowdsource mitigation strategies, share intel context, and vote on the most helpful responses. Sign in to add your voice and help keep defenders ahead.
Want to contribute mitigation steps or threat intel context? Sign in or create an account to join the community discussion.
Actions
Updates to AI analysis require Pro Console access. Upgrade inside Console → Billing.
Need more coverage?
Upgrade to Pro Console for AI refresh and higher limits.
For incident response and remediation, OffSeq services can help resolve threats faster.
Latest Threats
Check if your credentials are on the dark web
Instant breach scanning across billions of leaked records. Free tier available.