CVE-2026-12505: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 · Execution with Unnecessary Privileges
Affects Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10Source CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High.
Data as of 31 Oct 2026, 08:20 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 4% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 18 Jun 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 30 Oct 2026.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10cifs-utils | Affected– | Fixed in– |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8cifs-utils | Affected– | Fixed in– |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9cifs-utils | Affected– | Fixed in– |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9cifs-utils | Affected– | Fixed in– |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.22openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-9 | Affected– | Fixed in– |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6cifs-utils | Affected– | Fixed in– |
AI-suggested
Red Hat has released official security updates that fix this vulnerability. Users should apply the cifs-utils package update to versions 10.2 or later as provided in Red Hat's security advisories RHSA-2026:32990 and RHSA-2026:39575. Patch details and update instructions are available at https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258. Applying these updates fully mitigates the vulnerability.
Description
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.
References
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:32990 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:39575 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:39576 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:44232 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-12505 (opens in a new tab)
- bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2489805 (opens in a new tab)
- git.samba.org (opens in a new tab)
- security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-12505.json (opens in a new tab)