Description
A flaw was found in the cifs-utils package where the cifs.upcall helper fails to securely drop its root privileges before looking up user information inside a user-controlled environment. A local, low privileged attacker can exploit this by using a crafted request_key payload to trick the root-owned helper into entering a custom environment (namespace) containing a malicious NSS module. This forces the system to load the attacker's controlled NSS Module and configuration, allowing them to execute arbitrary commands as the root user, elevating their privileges and fully compromising the system.
Published: 2026-06-18
Score: 7.8 High
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

No analysis available yet.

Remediation

No remediation available yet.

Tracking

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Advisories

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History

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

threat_severity

Important


Thu, 18 Jun 2026 04:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A flaw was found in the cifs-utils package where the cifs.upcall helper fails to securely drop its root privileges before looking up user information inside a user-controlled environment. A local, low privileged attacker can exploit this by using a crafted request_key payload to trick the root-owned helper into entering a custom environment (namespace) containing a malicious NSS module. This forces the system to load the attacker's controlled NSS Module and configuration, allowing them to execute arbitrary commands as the root user, elevating their privileges and fully compromising the system.
Title Cifs-utils: local privilege escalation via forged cifs.spnego key description in cifs.upcall
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat openshift
Weaknesses CWE-250
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:openshift:4
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9
Vendors & Products Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat openshift
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}


Subscriptions

Redhat Enterprise Linux Openshift
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: redhat

Published:

Updated: 2026-06-18T15:50:43.338Z

Reserved: 2026-06-17T10:15:14.786Z

Link: CVE-2026-12505

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-06-18T15:50:38.599Z

cve-icon NVD

No data.

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Important

Publid Date: 2026-06-16T00:00:00Z

Links: CVE-2026-12505 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

No data.

Weaknesses
  • CWE-250

    Execution with Unnecessary Privileges