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NVD / CVE Program· CNA redhat

CVE-2026-91202: Cockpit-files: cockpit-files: arbitrary file ownership change via symlink following in privileged paste

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 24/100)

  • 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: 0.12% (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. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: cockpit-files (AlmaLinux:9) 36.1-1.el9_8; cockpit-files (Debian:14) 45-1; cockpit-files (openSUSE:Tumbleweed) 44-1.1.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to cockpit-files (AlmaLinux:9) 36.1-1.el9_8; cockpit-files (Debian:14) 45-1; cockpit-files (openSUSE:Tumbleweed) 44-1.1 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 flaw was found in cockpit-files. A low-privileged local user can exploit this vulnerability by crafting a directory containing a symbolic link (symlink) and then using the privileged "Paste as owner" function. This allows for arbitrary file ownership changes outside the intended pasted directory, leading to a compromise of data integrity. In some cases, this could also lead to reduced confidentiality if the new ownership grants unauthorized read access. Exploitation requires user interaction to select a non-original owner during the paste operation.

MediumCVSS 6.1 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Sep 18, 2026
Updated
Oct 19, 2026
EPSS
0.1% · 2th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

24

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
24 / 40 · 6.1 / 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
6.1
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.

Get told when this record changes

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

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

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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 9

    • 0:36.1-1.el9_8 and laternot affected · rpm

Package-level exposure

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

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
AlmaLinux:9cockpit-filesbefore 36.1-1.el9_836.1-1.el9_8
Debian:14cockpit-filesbefore 45-145-1
openSUSE:Tumbleweedcockpit-filesbefore 44-1.144-1.1
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstreamcockpit-filesbefore 0:36.1-1.el9_80:36.1-1.el9_8
Rocky Linux:9cockpit-filesbefore 0:36.1-1.el9_80:36.1-1.el9_8

Same product

red hat: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2025-10230Samba: command injection in wins server hook script
    52Plan
  • CVE-2026-4631Cockpit: cockpit: unauthenticated remote code execution due to ssh command-line argument injection
    44Plan
  • CVE-2026-76578Ipa: freeipa: freeipa: unauthenticated ldap client can obtain administrator credentials via the self-managed-token aci
    39Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-92747Sep 18, 2026 · Cockpit-machines: cockpit-machines: sensitive data exposure of guest credentials via json argument in process list
    20Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-92768Sep 18, 2026 · Cockpit-machines: cockpit-machines: sensitive data exposure via command-line arguments
    22Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2026-91205Sep 18, 2026 · Cockpit-files: cockpit-files: local attacker can hijack file ownership via symlink race
    24Monitor

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
almalinux:cockpit-files36.1-1.el9_8 · AlmaLinux:9Package registry (OSV)
debian:cockpit-files45-1 · Debian:14Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:cockpit-files44-1.1 · openSUSE:TumbleweedPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:cockpit-files0:36.1-1.el9_8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstreamPackage registry (OSV)
rocky linux:cockpit-files0:36.1-1.el9_8 · Rocky Linux:9Package 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.

No commit or PR link among the references.

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-2026-1208060 days apartQemu-kvm: qemu-guest-agent: local privilege escalation via symlink attack in guest-ssh-add-authorized-keys
    29Monitor
  • CVE-2026-9702310 days apartFlatpak: flatpak: arbitrary file deletion in root context via path traversal in deploy directory export/bin
    28Monitor
  • CVE-2026-9702411 days apartFlatpak: flatpak: arbitrary write in root context via path traversal in deploy directory files/etc
    28Monitor
  • CVE-2026-771597 days apartLibvirt: unsafe chown in qemutpmemulatorpreparehost() allows arbitrary file ownership change via symlink
    22Monitor

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.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
low · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
low · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
Low
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
Low

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-61 · UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following

CVSS vector

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

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✗ → ✓

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References

Show all references (2 more)

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

All records