CVE-2026-84837
Description
A flaw was found in rpm. An attacker can exploit a command injection vulnerability by influencing the path or filename of a tarball processed by rpmbuild -t* to include shell metacharacters. This is particularly relevant in automated build or continuous integration (CI) workflows that ingest externally supplied artifact names. Successful exploitation allows for arbitrary command execution with the privileges of the build user, which could lead to information disclosure or disruption of the build environment.
Statement
This issue is considered Moderate severity because, although successful exploitation can result in arbitrary command execution with the privileges of the user running rpmbuild, exploitation requires an attacker to influence the path or filename of a tarball that is subsequently processed by rpmbuild in tarball mode (-ta/-tb/-ts). The vulnerable code is not exposed as a network service and cannot be triggered remotely without a local build or CI workflow processing an attacker-controlled tarball name.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, avoid using `rpmbuild -t*` with tarballs whose paths or filenames can be influenced by untrusted input. In automated build pipelines, ensure tarballs are staged into a trusted local directory and their names are normalized or validated to reject shell metacharacters before `rpmbuild` is invoked.
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 | 7.8 | N/A | 7.8 |
| Attack Vector | Local | N/A | Local |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| 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:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/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
This issue was discovered by Found by AISLE in partnership with Red Hat.
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