CVE-2026-5051
Description
A flaw was found in HashiCorp Vault and Vault Enterprise. The audit device validation logic did not consistently apply plugin directory protections when a legacy file audit path option was used. This inconsistency could allow an attacker to bypass security controls, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive information.
Statement
A flaw was found in HashiCorp Vault's server-side audit device validation logic. Red Hat products that bundle the Vault Go client library (github.com/hashicorp/vault/api) are not affected because they only use the client SDK to connect to external Vault servers for secrets/KMS operations. The vulnerable code is in the Vault server's audit subsystem (vault/audit, vault/vault, vault/builtin packages), which is not imported or executed by any Red Hat product.
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.
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 | 4.4 | N/A | 4.4 |
| 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 | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | High | N/A | High |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | None |
| Availability Impact | None | N/A | None |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality,Access Control,Availability,Other
Technical Impact: Bypass Protection Mechanism; Gain Privileges or Assume Identity; Varies by Context
Attackers can bypass the security decision to access whatever is being protected. The consequences will depend on the associated functionality, but they can range from granting additional privileges to untrusted users to bypassing important security checks. Ultimately, this weakness may lead to exposure or modification of sensitive data, system crash, or execution of arbitrary code.
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