CVE-2026-88837: Red Hat Hardened Images · Authentication Bypass by Primary Weakness
Affects Red Hat Hardened ImagesSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium.
Data as of 5 Nov 2026, 23:24 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 19% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:NExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 23 Sep 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 6 Nov 2026.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| Red HatRed Hat Hardened Images | Affected– | Fixed in– |
AI-suggested
Red Hat has released updated BusyBox packages (busybox-1.37.0-9.1.hum1 and related) that fix this vulnerability. Users of Red Hat Hardened Images should apply these updates promptly. Refer to the Red Hat advisory RHSA-2026:72111 for detailed update instructions. No other mitigation is indicated or required beyond applying the official fix.
Description
CVE-2026-88837 is a vulnerability in BusyBox httpd used in Red Hat Hardened Images where yescrypt ($y$) password hashes are incorrectly treated as plaintext during Basic Authentication, causing an inversion of the authentication check. This flaw can lead to authentication bypass. Red Hat has released an update to BusyBox packages to address this issue.