Eglibc: A time-of-check to time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition in the dynamic loader (ld.so) of the GNU C Library
Affects eglibcSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.3 Medium.
Data as of 9 Nov 2026, 13:54 UTC
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:LExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 22 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 9 Nov 2026.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTSglibcpkg:deb/ubuntu/glibc?arch=source&distro=esm-infra/focalOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTSglibcpkg:deb/ubuntu/glibc?arch=source&distro=esm-infra/bionicOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTSglibcpkg:deb/ubuntu/glibc?arch=source&distro=esm-infra/xenialOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTSeglibcpkg:deb/ubuntu/eglibc?arch=source&distro=esm-infra-legacy/trustyOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
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AI-suggested
Major Linux distributions enable fs.protected_hardlinks by default, which mitigates this vulnerability. Users should ensure this sysctl is enabled to prevent exploitation. Restricting local user ability to hard-link setuid/setgid binaries and monitoring system configuration for fs.protected_hardlinks is recommended.
Description
A TOCTOU race condition in the dynamic loader (ld.so) of the GNU C Library (glibc) versions 2.14 through 2.44 allows local attackers to escalate privileges by exploiting how $ORIGIN in DT_RPATH is handled for setuid/setgid programs. The vulnerability arises when the loader validates a normalized search path but opens the raw, un-normalized path, enabling an attacker to redirect loading to a malicious shared object under certain conditions. Major Linux distributions mitigate this by enabling fs.protected_hardlinks by default.