CVE-2026-96512: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 · Incorrect Authorization
Affects Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10Source CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High.
Data as of 5 Nov 2026, 23:24 UTC
Thin evidence
One scorer or none| CNA (redhat) | CVSS 3.1 | 7.8 |
|---|
- EPSS
- 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 25% 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 23 Sep 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: evidence found.
Public exploit code: GitHub proofs of concept
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), GitHub proofs of concept, the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 6 Nov 2026.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10sudo | Affected– | Fixed in– |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Supportsudo | Affected– | Fixed in– |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Extended Lifecycle Supportsudo | Affected– | Fixed in– |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8sudo | Affected– | Fixed in– |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Supportsudo | Affected– | Fixed in– |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-Onsudo | Affected– | Fixed in– |
AI-suggested
Red Hat has released updated sudo packages (e.g., sudo-1.9.17-16.p2.2.hum1) that fix this vulnerability. Administrators should apply these updates promptly. Additionally, as a configuration mitigation, all NOTBEFORE and NOTAFTER timestamps in sudoers rules should be appended with the 'Z' timezone suffix to ensure timestamps are interpreted as UTC and not influenced by the TZ environment variable. Administrators can audit sudoers configurations using: grep -rE 'NOT(BEFORE|AFTER)=' /etc/sudoers /etc/sudoers.d/ to verify compliance. No other actions are required as authentication is unaffected.
Description
CVE-2026-96512 is a local authorization bypass vulnerability in sudo on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10. It occurs when sudoers rules use NOTBEFORE or NOTAFTER time-based restrictions with timestamps missing the trailing 'Z' timezone indicator. This causes sudo to rely on the TZ environment variable from the calling user, allowing an unprivileged user to manipulate the time window by setting TZ to an extreme offset and execute commands outside the intended time frame. Authentication is not bypassed; only the time-based authorization check is affected. This vulnerability requires a sudoers rule with the affected timestamp format and the attacker to be subject to that rule. Red Hat has released updates addressing this issue.
References
- access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-96512 (opens in a new tab)
- bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2539327 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/sudo-project/sudo/commit/1820a349687522f51023d1ae5925125f59679a8c (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:71609 (opens in a new tab)
- openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/09/24/4 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:75580 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:75579 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:75571 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:82939 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:86634 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:86635 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:87026 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:86633 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:90287 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:92325 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:92349 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:92326 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:91217 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:91219 (opens in a new tab)
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:91244 (opens in a new tab)