CVE-2026-8461VulnerabilityPublished 12 Oct 2026Updated 29 Oct 2026

Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat AI Base Images 3.2.4 (TPU)

Affects Red HatSource GCVE Database

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Not known to be exploited.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 00:19 UTC

Severity

High

Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 12 Oct 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 29 Oct 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

AI-suggested

Red Hat states that available mitigations do not meet their criteria for ease of use, deployment, applicability, or stability. Users should monitor Red Hat advisories for updates. If possible, avoid extracting untrusted tar archives using the affected Python tarfile.extractall() function until a fix is released. Customers with a Red Hat Technical Account Manager (TAM) can seek direct guidance. No generic mitigations are recommended beyond avoiding use of the vulnerable functionality with untrusted data.

Description

CVE-2026-8461 is part of a set of vulnerabilities affecting Red Hat AI Base Images 3.2.4 (TPU), specifically involving a flaw in Python's tarfile.extractall() function. This flaw allows a specially crafted archive to bypass security filters by using a hardlink referencing a symlink, potentially enabling file reads or writes outside the intended extraction directory. Red Hat has not yet provided a fix for this issue. The vulnerability impacts Red Hat OpenShift AI products that use the vulnerable Python tarfile module. Mitigations are currently unavailable or do not meet Red Hat's criteria for deployment and stability.

Impact

The vulnerability allows an attacker to bypass directory traversal protections during archive extraction, potentially leading to unauthorized reading or modification of files outside the intended directory. This can cause information disclosure and arbitrary file modification, impacting confidentiality and integrity of affected systems. There is no indication of availability impact. The flaw affects Red Hat OpenShift AI products using the vulnerable Python tarfile module. No known exploits in the wild have been reported.

Summary

The vulnerability CVE-2026-8461 is associated with the Red Hat AI Base Images 3.2.4 (TPU) and relates to a flaw in the Python standard library's tarfile.extractall() function. An attacker can craft a tar archive that uses a hardlink to a symlink to escape the intended extraction directory, leading to potential unauthorized file reads or writes outside the target directory. This can result in information disclosure or arbitrary file modification. Red Hat clarifies that only the CPython standard library tarfile module is affected, not other similarly named packages. The vulnerability is rated with high severity by Red Hat, reflecting the potential confidentiality and integrity impacts. The advisory references multiple related CVEs and provides links to Red Hat's security resources and the upstream Python issue.

CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #5
The product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Requirements · Language Selection
Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
Operation · Build and Compilation · Environment Hardening
Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index…
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory (Path Traversal) (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #6OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design
For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks…
Implementation · Input Validation
Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174).
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Path Traversal (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes and URL Encoding Combined to Bypass Validation Logic (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls (opens in a new tab)
Using Escaped Slashes in Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes in Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-835Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition (Infinite Loop) (opens in a new tab)
Base weakness
The product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop.
CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessCWE Top 25 (2025): #8
The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design · Language Selection
Use a language that provides appropriate memory abstractions.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Overread Buffers (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 30 Oct 2026, 00:19 UTC

Public exploits and detectionGitHub proofs of concept

WeaknessesCWE-787, CWE-22, CWE-835 +1

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats