VulnerabilityPublished 23 Sep 2026Updated 6 Nov 2026

CVE-2026-96276: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory

Affects Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10Source CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium.

Data as of 6 Nov 2026, 11:55 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

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

Contested

Scorers differ by 2 or more points

CVSS scores by source
CNA (redhat)	CVSS 3.1	6.5
CISA-ADP	CVSS 3.1	9.8

EPSS: 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 38% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

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

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

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
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: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
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 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.

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 10flatpak	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7flatpak	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8flatpak	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9flatpak	Affected–	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Avoid using untrusted SDK containers for development or compilation. Since exploitation requires deliberate use of a malicious SDK, ensuring SDK sources are trusted effectively mitigates this vulnerability.

Description

CVE-2026-96276 is a vulnerability in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 involving improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory during the use of flatpak build-init with a writable SDK and SDK extension. A malicious SDK container can specify a crafted directory path containing '..' traversal sequences, allowing files to be written outside the intended working directory. Exploitation requires a developer to build against an untrusted SDK container, resulting in arbitrary file overwrite within the developer's filesystem permissions.

Impact

An attacker can cause arbitrary files accessible by the developer to be overwritten or deleted, resulting in a full integrity compromise of those files. There is no confidentiality impact since no read access is gained, and no availability impact as the flaw does not cause service disruption. The attack is limited to the developer's user privileges and requires user interaction to build against the malicious SDK.

Summary

This vulnerability arises when a malicious SDK container declares an extension point with a crafted directory path that includes '..' traversal components. When a developer runs 'flatpak build-init --writable-sdk --sdk-extension' with this SDK, the target path is resolved using a function that does not reject '..' components, enabling attacker-controlled files to be written outside the build working directory. The flaw allows arbitrary file deletion and replacement within the developer's accessible filesystem, leading to a full integrity compromise of affected files. The attack requires no privileges and no local access, but does require the developer to actively choose to build against the malicious SDK. The impact is limited to the developer's user scope and does not affect confidentiality or availability.

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 6 Nov 2026, 11:55 UTC

Technical details

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