Local privilege escalation via symlink-following ownership change
Published Aug 10, 2026 · Updated Aug 10, 2026
Privilege escalation in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 through 10 allows local users controlling swtpm to take ownership of arbitrary host files. virFileChownFiles uses stat and chown on entries in the swtpm state directory, causing both operations to follow an attacker-planted symbolic link. Exploitation requires control of the confined swtpm process and a subsequent root-level libvirt operation on a vTPM-enabled domain; the resulting ownership transfer permits modification of the selected host file.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 through 10 allows local users controlling swtpm to take ownership of arbitrary host files. virFileChownFiles uses stat and chown on entries in the swtpm state directory, causing both operations to follow an attacker-planted symbolic link. Exploitation requires control of the confined swtpm process and a subsequent root-level libvirt operation on a vTPM-enabled domain; the resulting ownership transfer permits modification of the selected host file.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-63622
- Published
- Aug 10, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 10, 2026
- Vendor
- 389 Directory Server
- Product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Classifications
- CWE-59, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 10, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 10, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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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?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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