VulnerabilityPublished 11 Aug 2026Updated 4 Nov 2026

CVE-2026-72694: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 · Improper Link Resolution Before File Access

Affects Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10Source CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.1 High.

Data as of 8 Nov 2026, 11:36 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.1High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

Thin evidence

One scorer or none

CVSS scores by source
CNA (redhat)	CVSS 3.1	7.1

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 3% 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:N

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 11 Aug 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 8 Nov 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10mrtg	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Supportmrtg	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8mrtg	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Supportmrtg	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-Onmrtg	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Advanced Mission Critical Update Supportmrtg	Affected–	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Red Hat advises not to start the MRTG daemon as root with the --daemon option. Instead, configure MRTG to run directly as an unprivileged user. If running as root is necessary, ensure the PID file and its directory are owned by root and not writable by unprivileged users. Prevent untrusted users from influencing the --pid-file path. Changes to service configuration may require a service restart.

Description

A flaw was found in MRTG. When the MRTG daemon is started as a root user and subsequently drops privileges, a local, low-privileged attacker can exploit a symbolic link (symlink) following vulnerability. By influencing or pre-placing a symlink in the process ID (PID) file path, the attacker can trick the root process into changing the ownership of an arbitrary existing file to the daemon user. This can lead to local privilege escalation, allowing unauthorized access to or modification of sensitive files.

Impact

A local, low-privileged attacker can exploit this vulnerability to escalate privileges by causing the MRTG daemon running as root to change ownership of arbitrary files. This can lead to unauthorized access or modification of sensitive files, impacting confidentiality and integrity. There is no impact on availability. No known exploits in the wild have been reported.

Summary

This vulnerability in MRTG arises from improper link resolution before file access (CWE-59). When the MRTG daemon runs as root and subsequently drops privileges, an attacker with low privileges can pre-place or influence a symbolic link in the PID file path. This causes the root process to inadvertently change the ownership of arbitrary existing files to the daemon user. The vulnerability can be exploited locally to escalate privileges by manipulating file ownership, compromising confidentiality and integrity of files. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 7.1 (high severity) with local attack vector, low attack complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, unchanged scope, and high confidentiality and integrity impact. The vendor advisory recommends mitigation by avoiding starting MRTG as root with the --daemon option, running MRTG as an unprivileged user, or ensuring strict ownership and permissions on the PID file and its directory to prevent untrusted user influence.

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Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 11 Aug 2026, 09:11 UTC

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