CVE-2026-14476
Description
A path traversal flaw was found in SSSD's AD GPO provider. The ad_gpo_extract_smb_components() function does not sanitize .. sequences in the gPCFileSysPath LDAP attribute, allowing an attacker with AD GPO management access to write files outside the GPO cache directory as root. On default RHEL configurations with SELinux enforcing, this can be used to inject Kerberos configuration leading to authentication bypass.
Statement
Red Hat has rated this as Moderate because exploitation requires high privileges (AD GPO management access) and on default RHEL configurations with SELinux enforcing, the realistic impact is limited to Kerberos authentication bypass via krb5 configuration injection. SELinux blocks writes to most security-critical paths such as /etc/cron.d/.
Mitigation
Set ad_gpo_access_control = disabled in /etc/sssd/sssd.conf to disable GPO fetching entirely. Note that this removes GPO-based login policy enforcement.
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 | 8 | N/A | 8 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | High |
| Privileges Required | High | N/A | High |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Changed | N/A | Changed |
| Confidentiality | High | N/A | High |
| Integrity Impact | High | N/A | High |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
The attacker may be able to create or overwrite critical files that are used to execute code, such as programs or libraries.
Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Files or Directories
The attacker may be able to overwrite or create critical files, such as programs, libraries, or important data. If the targeted file is used for a security mechanism, then the attacker may be able to bypass that mechanism. For example, appending a new account at the end of a password file may allow an attacker to bypass authentication.
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Files or Directories
The attacker may be able read the contents of unexpected files and expose sensitive data by traversing the file system to access files or directories that are outside of the restricted directory. If the targeted file is used for a security mechanism, then the attacker may be able to bypass that mechanism. For example, by reading a password file, the attacker could conduct brute force password guessing attacks in order to break into an account on the system.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
The attacker may be able to overwrite, delete, or corrupt unexpected critical files such as programs, libraries, or important data. This may prevent the product from working at all and in the case of a protection mechanisms such as authentication, it has the potential to lockout every user of the product.
Acknowledgements
This issue was discovered by Ian Murphy (Red Hat).
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