CVE-2026-72840Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Root command execution via stale mount ACL

Published Aug 13, 2026 · Updated Aug 14, 2026

Privilege escalation in OpenWrt LuCI master allows remote authenticated users with mount-configuration access to execute commands as root. The luci-mod-system-mounts ACL wrongly grants ubus file.write access to /etc/crontabs/root, letting arbitrary cron entries reach the root crontab. Reachability requires an authenticated delegated account holding the mount-configuration ACL group; the default BusyBox crond service executes injected entries as UID 0 within one minute.

CVSS severity8.8
High
EPSS probability0.38%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in OpenWrt LuCI master allows remote authenticated users with mount-configuration access to execute commands as root. The luci-mod-system-mounts ACL wrongly grants ubus file.write access to /etc/crontabs/root, letting arbitrary cron entries reach the root crontab. Reachability requires an authenticated delegated account holding the mount-configuration ACL group; the default BusyBox crond service executes injected entries as UID 0 within one minute.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72840
Published
Aug 13, 2026
Updated
Aug 14, 2026
Vendor
OpenWrt
Product
LuCI
Classifications
CWE-266, T1068, T1053.003
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 13, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 14, 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?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

OpenWrt · LuCIAffected versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

8.8OpenWrt GitHub Security AdvisoryCVSS:3.1/AV:N/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.

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)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-266Incorrect Privilege Assignment
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation
T1053.003Scheduled Task/Job: Cron

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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