CVE-2026-12080Public exploit

Local root escalation via symlink-following chown

Published Jul 20, 2026 · Updated Jul 20, 2026

Privilege escalation in QEMU Guest Agent on affected Red Hat platforms allows local users to gain root through symbolic links. In qga/commands-posix-ssh.c, a symlink-following directory test and plain chown operate as root on attacker-controlled .ssh paths. A host or management layer must invoke guest-ssh-add-authorized-keys for the attacker's existing account; ownership transfer of a root-owned target enables root access.

CVSS severity7.3
High
EPSS probability0.18%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in QEMU Guest Agent on affected Red Hat platforms allows local users to gain root through symbolic links. In qga/commands-posix-ssh.c, a symlink-following directory test and plain chown operate as root on attacker-controlled .ssh paths. A host or management layer must invoke guest-ssh-add-authorized-keys for the attacker's existing account; ownership transfer of a root-owned target enables root access.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-12080
Published
Jul 20, 2026
Updated
Jul 20, 2026
Vendor
389 Directory Server
Product
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
Classifications
CWE-61, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 20, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jul 20, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected versions are unavailable in this record. Check the vendor advisory for version and patch details.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

389 Directory Server · Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10Affected versions are unavailable in this record.
389 Directory Server · Red Hat OpenShift Container PlatformAffected versions are unavailable in this record.
389 Directory Server · Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9Affected versions are unavailable in this record.
389 Directory Server · Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8Affected versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.3Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-61UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo