CVE-2026-44943
Description
A flaw was found in open-iscsi. This vulnerability, known as Path Traversal, allows remote Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attackers to manipulate file paths. By doing so, attackers can create files with root privileges outside the intended database and inject malicious content into system records. This could lead to unauthorized system modification or privilege escalation.
Statement
This is an Important vulnerability in the open-iscsi iscsi-initiator-utils package, enabling remote Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attackers to achieve privilege escalation. The path traversal flaw allows creating root-owned files and injecting malicious data into system records, posing a significant risk of unauthorized system modification without requiring user interaction or prior authentication.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, restrict network access to iSCSI initiator systems to only trusted networks and hosts. If iSCSI is not actively used, consider disabling the `iscsid` service to prevent potential exploitation.
To disable the `iscsid` service:
`systemctl stop iscsid`
`systemctl disable iscsid`
*Note that disabling the iSCSI service will prevent the system from connecting to iSCSI targets and may impact functionality.
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).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 8.6 | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | N/A |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | N/A |
| Scope | Changed | N/A | N/A |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | High | N/A | N/A |
| Availability Impact | None | N/A | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N
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. 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 protection mechanisms such as authentication, it has the potential to lock out product users.
Frequently Asked Questions
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