CVE-2026-4878: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 libcap · Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition
Affects Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 libcapSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.7 Medium : upgrade the Red Hat redhat/libcap package to 10.2 or 9.8 when convenient.
Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 11:52 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 10% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
- Patch
- Available – fixed in 10.2, 9.8
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 9 Apr 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
Upgrade the Red Hat redhat/libcap package to 10.2 or 9.8.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
Red Hatredhat/libcappkg:rpm/redhat/libcapOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
AI-suggested
Red Hat has released official security updates for libcap that fix this TOCTOU race condition vulnerability. Users should apply the updated libcap packages as per Red Hat advisories RHSA-2026:12423 (for RHEL 10) and RHSA-2026:12441 (for RHEL 9). Detailed update instructions are available at https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258. Applying these updates fully mitigates the vulnerability. No additional mitigation steps are required beyond installing the official patches.
Description
A flaw was found in libcap. A local unprivileged user can exploit a Time-of-check-to-time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition in the `cap_set_file()` function. This allows an attacker with write access to a parent directory to redirect file capability updates to an attacker-controlled file. By doing so, capabilities can be injected into or stripped from unintended executables, leading to privilege escalation.
References
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:12423 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:12441 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:13285 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:14162 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:14937 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:19130 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:19346 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:19456 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:19458 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:20595 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:21254 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:21275 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:22634 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:22957 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:23233 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:23245 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:24346 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:25044 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:25096 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:25181 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:26542 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:27998 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:28887 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:29197 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:30078 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:30087 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:30088 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:30089 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:34098 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:39981 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:7473 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-4878 (opens in a new tab)
- bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2447554 (opens in a new tab)
- bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2451615 (opens in a new tab)
- openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/04/07/4 (opens in a new tab)
- openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/04/07/14 (opens in a new tab)
- openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/04/08/9 (opens in a new tab)
- openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/04/09/5 (opens in a new tab)
- openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/04/09/6 (opens in a new tab)
- security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-4878.json (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:58981 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:59831 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:72502 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:74674 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:82304 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:82322 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:82347 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:82354 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:82372 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:82857 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:82888 (opens in a new tab)