CVE-2026-34980
Description
A flaw was found in OpenPrinting CUPS. An unauthorized client can exploit this vulnerability by sending a specially crafted print job to a shared PostScript queue without authentication. The server improperly handles the page-border value, allowing an attacker to embed and reparse malicious text as a trusted scheduler control record. This can lead to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the 'lp' user, potentially compromising the affected system.
Statement
This issue is classified as moderate severity primarily because:
Affected Component: The vulnerability specifically affects the core cups daemon package (which handles the print scheduler and target queues) and does not affect the utility libraries (cups-libs).
Conditions for Exploitation: Exploitation requires a network-exposed CUPS daemon (cupsd) configured with an active, shared PostScript target queue. A remote, unauthenticated attacker must be able to reach this daemon over the network and submit a crafted print job to the shared queue.
Impact Limitations: While the flaw allows for remote command execution, the execution is strictly limited to utilizing existing binaries already present on the system. Furthermore, these commands run under the restricted privileges of the unprivileged service user (lp) rather than the root or administrative user, preventing direct, full system compromise.
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).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 6.4 | 7.5 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Adjacent Network | Adjacent Network | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | High | High | N/A |
| Privileges Required | None | None | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | None | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | N/A |
| Confidentiality | High | High | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | Low | High | N/A |
| Availability Impact | Low | High | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/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.
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