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6.3
MEDIUM CVSS 3.1
CVE-2026-16552
Systemd: systemd-tmpfiles symlink-redirected arbitrary file overwrite via a chase_safe root-to-unprivileged ownership transition bypass
Overview
Description

Rejected reason: The reported issue is invalid, as it requires root privileges to reproduce, and it is out of scope of the threat model of the affected component.

Details
INFO

Published Date :

July 22, 2026, 4:17 p.m.

Last Modified :

July 23, 2026, 11:16 a.m.

Remotely Exploit :

No

Source :

98a521c5-3a3e-4e2b-bc27-002067e0463c
Impact
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-16552 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Redhat enterprise_linux
2 Redhat openshift_container_platform
3 Redhat enterprise_linux
4 Redhat hardened_images
: Total Affected Vendor : 1 | Products : 4
Scoring
CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
CVSS 3.1 MEDIUM 53f830b8-0a3f-465b-8143-3b8a9948e749
CVSS 3.1 MEDIUM [email protected]
Solution
Update systemd to fix a symbolic link following vulnerability in tmpfiles.d.
  • Update systemd to the latest version.
  • Review and secure tmpfiles.d configurations.
  • Remove user-influenced symbolic links.

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2026-16552 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

Results are limited to the first 20 news articles due to potential performance issues.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-16552 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • CVE Rejected by 98a521c5-3a3e-4e2b-bc27-002067e0463c

    Jul. 23, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
  • CVE Modified by 98a521c5-3a3e-4e2b-bc27-002067e0463c

    Jul. 23, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Changed Description A flaw was found in systemd-tmpfiles. When processing a tmpfiles.d configuration entry that writes to a file, systemd-tmpfiles can follow a symbolic link placed by an unprivileged local user, and an existing safety check does not detect this specific case because it always treats transitions away from the root user as safe. On systems where a tmpfiles.d configuration targets a path an unprivileged user can influence, this could allow that user to redirect a privileged systemd-tmpfiles write to a file of their choosing, though the content written remains determined by the existing configuration rather than by the unprivileged user. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to integrity. Rejected reason: The reported issue is invalid, as it requires root privileges to reproduce, and it is out of scope of the threat model of the affected component.
    Removed CVSS V3.1 Red Hat, Inc.: AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
    Removed CWE Red Hat, Inc.: CWE-59
    Removed Reference Red Hat, Inc.: https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-16552
    Removed Reference Red Hat, Inc.: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2506073
    Removed Reference Red Hat, Inc.: https://github.com/systemd/systemd/blob/b9ef5951f8f9e156479494fdb9ca6274cb3d3c53/src/basic/chase.c
    Removed Reference Red Hat, Inc.: https://github.com/systemd/systemd/blob/b9ef5951f8f9e156479494fdb9ca6274cb3d3c53/src/tmpfiles/tmpfiles.c
    Removed Affected [{'cpes': ['cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10', 'packageName': 'systemd', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7', 'packageName': 'systemd', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8', 'packageName': 'systemd', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9', 'packageName': 'systemd', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:hummingbird:1'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Hardened Images', 'packageName': 'systemd', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift:4'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4', 'packageName': 'systemd', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}]
  • CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    Jul. 22, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2026-16552', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'none'}, {'automatable': 'no'}, {'technicalImpact': 'partial'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-07-22T16:07:52.239845Z'}
  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    Jul. 22, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Affected [{'cpes': ['cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10', 'packageName': 'systemd', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7', 'packageName': 'systemd', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8', 'packageName': 'systemd', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9', 'packageName': 'systemd', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:hummingbird:1'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Hardened Images', 'packageName': 'systemd', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift:4'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4', 'packageName': 'systemd', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}]
    Added Description A flaw was found in systemd-tmpfiles. When processing a tmpfiles.d configuration entry that writes to a file, systemd-tmpfiles can follow a symbolic link placed by an unprivileged local user, and an existing safety check does not detect this specific case because it always treats transitions away from the root user as safe. On systems where a tmpfiles.d configuration targets a path an unprivileged user can influence, this could allow that user to redirect a privileged systemd-tmpfiles write to a file of their choosing, though the content written remains determined by the existing configuration rather than by the unprivileged user. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to integrity.
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
    Added CWE CWE-59
    Added Reference https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-16552
    Added Reference https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2506073
    Added Reference https://github.com/systemd/systemd/blob/b9ef5951f8f9e156479494fdb9ca6274cb3d3c53/src/basic/chase.c
    Added Reference https://github.com/systemd/systemd/blob/b9ef5951f8f9e156479494fdb9ca6274cb3d3c53/src/tmpfiles/tmpfiles.c
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
CVSS
Vulnerability Scoring Details
Base CVSS Score: 6.3
Attack Vector
Attack Complexity
Privileges Required
User Interaction
Scope
Confidentiality Impact
Integrity Impact
Availability Impact