CVE-2026-10805
Description
A flaw was found in NetworkManager. This local privilege escalation vulnerability exists in NetworkManager's dhclient backend when processing malformed Manufacturer Usage Description (MUD) URLs. A local user can exploit this flaw to escalate privileges by triggering a script via a crafted MUD URL, provided an administrator has explicitly configured NetworkManager to use dhclient. This issue does not affect default configurations of NetworkManager.
Statement
This Moderate local privilege escalation flaw in NetworkManager's dhclient backend is not exploitable in default Red Hat Enterprise Linux configurations. Exploitation requires an administrator to explicitly configure NetworkManager to use dhclient instead of its default internal DHCP client, allowing a local user to escalate privileges via a crafted MUD URL.
Mitigation
To prevent exploitation, ensure NetworkManager is not configured to use the `dhclient` backend. The default configuration on Red Hat Enterprise Linux does not enable `dhclient`. If a custom configuration file, such as `/etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/00-dhcp.conf`, contains `[main] dhcp=dhclient`, remove or comment out this line. After modifying the configuration, restart the NetworkManager service: `sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager` Warning: Restarting the NetworkManager service will temporarily disrupt network connectivity.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 6.7 | N/A | 6.7 |
| Attack Vector | Local | N/A | Local |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | High |
| Privileges Required | Low | N/A | Low |
| User Interaction | Required | N/A | Required |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | High | N/A | High |
| Integrity Impact | High | N/A | High |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality,Integrity,Availability,Non-Repudiation
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; Read Files or Directories; Modify Files or Directories; Read Application Data; Modify Application Data; Hide Activities
Attackers could execute unauthorized operating system commands, which could then be used to disable the product, or read and modify data for which the attacker does not have permissions to access directly. Since the targeted application is directly executing the commands instead of the attacker, any malicious activities may appear to come from the application or the application's owner.
Acknowledgements
Red Hat would like to thank Andrej Tomci for reporting this issue.
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