CVE-2026-55567Public exploit

SYSTEM privilege escalation via unlocked deletion parent

Published Sep 21, 2026 · Updated Sep 21, 2026

TOCTOU file deletion in BleachBit before 6.0.1 allows local users to gain SYSTEM privileges during elevated Windows cleaning. The Windows deletion path checks a target and removes it without locking or revalidating its parent, letting a junction swap and native symlink redirect deletion to an attacker-selected file. A local unprivileged account must race an administrator-elevated cleaning run; arbitrary privileged file deletion can then be chained with Windows Installer behavior for SYSTEM access.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.14%
Next 30 days · Oct 19, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

TOCTOU file deletion in BleachBit before 6.0.1 allows local users to gain SYSTEM privileges during elevated Windows cleaning. The Windows deletion path checks a target and removes it without locking or revalidating its parent, letting a junction swap and native symlink redirect deletion to an attacker-selected file. A local unprivileged account must race an administrator-elevated cleaning run; arbitrary privileged file deletion can then be chained with Windows Installer behavior for SYSTEM access.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-55567
Published
Sep 21, 2026
Updated
Sep 21, 2026
Vendor
BleachBit
Product
BleachBit
Classifications
CWE-367, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 21, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 21, 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?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=< 6.0.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

BleachBit · BleachBitversion=< 6.0.1

Published CVSS scores

7.8GitHub CNACVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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.

Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.

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

No observations available

Sep 22, 2026Sep 28, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 28, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-367Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition
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

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Your stack

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