Vulnerability · Published Sep 18, 2026 · Assigned by redhat
CVE-2026-91203Cockpit-files: cockpit-files: arbitrary file ownership and permission modification via symlink race condition
Medium 6.0
In plain English
A medium-severity security flaw in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 from Red Hat. Proof-of-concept exploit code is public. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.1% (higher than 3% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
A flaw was found in cockpit-files. This vulnerability allows a local attacker to exploit a timing issue, known as a symlink race condition, during privileged file operations such as changing file ownership or permissions. By manipulating directory entries and winning this race, the attacker can redirect these operations to unintended files. This could lead to unauthorized changes in file ownership and permissions on arbitrary files, potentially compromising system integrity and availability by altering system or application states or rendering services unusable.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlmaLinux:10 | cockpit-files | 36.1-1.el10_2 | ALSA-2026:95570 |
| Debian:14 | cockpit-files | 45-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-91203 |
| Rocky Linux:10 | cockpit-files | 0:36.1-1.el10_2 | RLSA-2026:95570 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | cockpit-files | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-91203 |
| Ubuntu:26.10 | cockpit-files | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-91203 |
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | see references |
Weakness: CWE-363 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
References
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-91203 vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHBZ#2465632 issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT