CVE-2026-54231
Description
A content injection vulnerability was found in the ABRT post-create event handler scripts in libreport. The event script queries the systemd journal for log entries matching the crashed process and writes the results to files in the dump directory without sanitizing embedded control characters. A local user can inject arbitrary content into the journal output by embedding newline characters in syslog messages, controlling the content that root writes to dump directory files.
Statement
Red Hat is aware of this vulnerability affecting ABRT event handler scripts in libreport. ABRT was deprecated in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and is not available in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 or later. Users of RHEL 8 who have ABRT installed are encouraged to disable or remove it. Fedora users are affected on Fedora 43 and Fedora 44 where ABRT is still shipped.
Mitigation
The following practices would help for avoiding exposure and mitigate this flaw:
- Disable or remove ABRT if it is not required. On RHEL 8 systems where ABRT is installed, it can be disabled with: systemctl disable --now abrtd.service abrt-journal-core.service abrt-oops.service abrt-xorg.service
- On Fedora systems, consider using systemd-coredump instead of ABRT for crash handling
- Restrict local user access to systems running ABRT, as this vulnerability requires local access
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 | 5.5 | N/A | 5.5 |
| Attack Vector | Local | N/A | Local |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | Low | N/A | Low |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | None |
| Integrity Impact | High | N/A | High |
| Availability Impact | None | N/A | None |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Application Data
Many injection attacks involve the disclosure of important information -- in terms of both data sensitivity and usefulness in further exploitation.
Access Control
Technical Impact: Bypass Protection Mechanism
In some cases, injectable code controls authentication; this may lead to a remote vulnerability.
Other
Technical Impact: Alter Execution Logic
Injection attacks are characterized by the ability to significantly change the flow of a given process, and in some cases, to the execution of arbitrary code.
Integrity,Other
Technical Impact: Other
Data injection attacks lead to loss of data integrity in nearly all cases as the control-plane data injected is always incidental to data recall or writing.
Non-Repudiation
Technical Impact: Hide Activities
Often the actions performed by injected control code are unlogged.
Acknowledgements
Red Hat would like to thank Red Team (Deutsche Telekom Security GmbH) for reporting this issue.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not sure what something means? Check out our Security Glossary.
Want to get errata notifications? Sign up here.
