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NVD / CVE Program· CNA redhat

CVE-2026-19079: Policycoreutils: policycoreutils: toctou race condition in fixfiles allows arbitrary selinux label manipulation

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 17/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.10% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. A user must open a link or visit a page. Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.
  • Fixed version: policycoreutils (Red Hat:hummingbird:1) 0:3.11-2.2.hum1; policycoreutils-dbus (Red Hat:hummingbird:1) 0:3.11-2.2.hum1; policycoreutils-devel (Red Hat:hummingbird:1) 0:3.11-2.2.hum1.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to policycoreutils (Red Hat:hummingbird:1) 0:3.11-2.2.hum1; policycoreutils-dbus (Red Hat:hummingbird:1) 0:3.11-2.2.hum1; policycoreutils-devel (Red Hat:hummingbird:1) 0:3.11-2.2.hum1 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

A TOCTOU (Time-of-Check-Time-of-Use) race condition vulnerability was found in the fixfiles script in policycoreutils. When running fixfiles relabel or fixfiles restore, the script used find and chcon commands to locate and relabel unlabeled files under /tmp and other directories. A local attacker could exploit a race window between the file discovery and the label change operation by swapping directory components with symlinks, causing chcon to follow the symlink and modify SELinux labels on arbitrary system files. This could undermine SELinux mandatory access control protections on critical files such as /etc/shadow.

MediumCVSS 4.4 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Aug 7, 2026
Updated
Sep 1, 2026
EPSS
0.1% · 1th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

17

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
17 / 40 · 4.4 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.1%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
—
CNA · redhat
4.4
NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

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  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

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When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

—

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (redhat). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

    • all versionsaffected

  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

    • all versionsunknown

  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

    • all versionsaffected

  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

    • all versionsaffected

  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

    • all versionsaffected

  • Red Hat Red Hat Hardened Images

    • 3.11-2.2.hum1 and laternot affected · rpm

  • Red Hat Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

    • all versionsaffected
    • all versionsaffected

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12policycoreutilsfrom 0—
Red Hat:hummingbird:1policycoreutilsbefore 0:3.11-2.2.hum10:3.11-2.2.hum1
Red Hat:hummingbird:1policycoreutils-dbusbefore 0:3.11-2.2.hum10:3.11-2.2.hum1
Red Hat:hummingbird:1policycoreutils-develbefore 0:3.11-2.2.hum10:3.11-2.2.hum1
Red Hat:hummingbird:1policycoreutils-guibefore 0:3.11-2.2.hum10:3.11-2.2.hum1
Red Hat:hummingbird:1policycoreutils-newrolebefore 0:3.11-2.2.hum10:3.11-2.2.hum1
Red Hat:hummingbird:1policycoreutils-python-utilsbefore 0:3.11-2.2.hum10:3.11-2.2.hum1
Red Hat:hummingbird:1policycoreutils-restorecondbefore 0:3.11-2.2.hum10:3.11-2.2.hum1
Red Hat:hummingbird:1policycoreutils-sandboxbefore 0:3.11-2.2.hum10:3.11-2.2.hum1
Red Hat:hummingbird:1python3-policycoreutilsbefore 0:3.11-2.2.hum10:3.11-2.2.hum1

Same product

red hat: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-90954Busybox: busybox: dpkg-deb extraction-root escape via per-ar-member deferred symlink flush
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2026-96512Sudo: sudo: tz environment variable allows bypass of notbefore/notafter time-based authorization
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2026-78410Util-linux: util-linux: restricted bind mounts do not pin the source, allowing x-mount.owner/group/mode redirection
    31Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-15003Jul 27, 2026 · Binutils: gnu binutils: heap-buffer-overflow in linker leads to information disclosure and denial of service
    22Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-44605Aug 5, 2026 · Rpm: heap buffer overflow in ndb slot table parsing
    22Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2026-78408Sep 2, 2026 · Util-linux: util-linux: nsenter --join-cgroup leaks root cgroup migration authority
    31Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
red hat:policycoreutils0:3.11-2.2.hum1 · Red Hat:hummingbird:1Package registry (OSV)
red hat:policycoreutils-dbus0:3.11-2.2.hum1 · Red Hat:hummingbird:1Package registry (OSV)
red hat:policycoreutils-devel0:3.11-2.2.hum1 · Red Hat:hummingbird:1Package registry (OSV)
red hat:policycoreutils-gui0:3.11-2.2.hum1 · Red Hat:hummingbird:1Package registry (OSV)
red hat:policycoreutils-newrole0:3.11-2.2.hum1 · Red Hat:hummingbird:1Package registry (OSV)
red hat:policycoreutils-python-utils0:3.11-2.2.hum1 · Red Hat:hummingbird:1Package registry (OSV)
red hat:policycoreutils-restorecond0:3.11-2.2.hum1 · Red Hat:hummingbird:1Package registry (OSV)
red hat:policycoreutils-sandbox0:3.11-2.2.hum1 · Red Hat:hummingbird:1Package registry (OSV)
red hat:python3-policycoreutils0:3.11-2.2.hum1 · Red Hat:hummingbird:1Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

  • CVE-2026-7841026 days apartUtil-linux: util-linux: restricted bind mounts do not pin the source, allowing x-mount.owner/group/mode redirection
    31Monitor

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • A user must open a link or visit a page.
  • Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
none
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
None

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-367 · Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

nvd-secondary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

ATT&CK techniques

—

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (3 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records