CVE-2026-19079
Policycoreutils: policycoreutils: toctou race condition in fixfiles allows arbitrary selinux label manipulation
A TOCTOU (Time-of-Check-Time-of-Use) race condition vulnerability was found in the fixfiles script in policycoreutils. When running fixfiles relabel or fixfiles restore, the script used find and chcon commands to locate and relabel unlabeled files under /tmp and other directories. A local attacker could exploit a race window between the file discovery and the label change operation by swapping directory components with symlinks, causing chcon to follow the symlink and modify SELinux labels on arbitrary system files. This could undermine SELinux mandatory access control protections on critical files such as /etc/shadow.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
4.4
Policycoreutils: policycoreutils: toctou race condition in fixfiles allows arbitrary selinux label manipulation
A TOCTOU (Time-of-Check-Time-of-Use) race condition vulnerability was found in the fixfiles script in policycoreutils. When running fixfiles relabel or fixfiles restore, the script used find and chcon commands to locate and relabel unlabeled files under /tmp and other directories. A local attacker could exploit a race window between the file discovery and the label change operation by swapping directory components with symlinks, causing chcon to follow the symlink and modify SELinux labels on arbitrary system files. This could undermine SELinux mandatory access control protections on critical files such as /etc/shadow.
- Record
CVE-2026-19079- CVSS 3.1
- 4.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-367
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
EUVDEUVD-2026-54398
4.4
A TOCTOU (Time-of-Check-Time-of-Use) race condition vulnerability was found in the fixfiles script in policycoreutils. When running fixfiles relabel or fixfiles restore, the script used find and chcon commands to locate and relabel unlabeled files under /tmp and other directories. A local attacker could exploit a race window between the file discovery and the label change operation by swapping directory components with symlinks, causing chcon to follow the symlink and modify SELinux labels on arbitrary system files. This could undermine SELinux mandatory access control protections on critical files such as /etc/shadow.
- Record
EUVD-2026-54398- CVSS 3.1
- 4.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-05
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-8hc6-8f5m-vmq3
4.4
A TOCTOU (Time-of-Check-Time-of-Use) race condition vulnerability was found in the fixfiles...
A TOCTOU (Time-of-Check-Time-of-Use) race condition vulnerability was found in the fixfiles script in policycoreutils. When running fixfiles relabel or fixfiles restore, the script used find and chcon commands to locate and relabel unlabeled files under /tmp and other directories. A local attacker could exploit a race window between the file discovery and the label change operation by swapping directory components with symlinks, causing chcon to follow the symlink and modify SELinux labels on arbitrary system files. This could undermine SELinux mandatory access control protections on critical files such as /etc/shadow.
- Record
GHSA-8hc6-8f5m-vmq3- CVSS 3.1
- 4.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-367
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
4.4
A TOCTOU (Time-of-Check-Time-of-Use) race condition vulnerability was found in the fixfiles script in policycoreutils. When running fixfiles relabel or fixfiles restore, the script used find and chcon commands to locate and relabel unlabeled files under /tmp and other directories. A local attacker could exploit a race window between the file discovery and the label change operation by swapping directory components with symlinks, causing chcon to follow the symlink and modify SELinux labels on arbitrary system files. This could undermine SELinux mandatory access control protections on critical files such as /etc/shadow.
- Record
CVE-2026-19079- CVSS 3.1
- 4.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-367
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
OSV
4.4
Policycoreutils: policycoreutils: toctou race condition in fixfiles allows arbitrary selinux label manipulation
A TOCTOU (Time-of-Check-Time-of-Use) race condition vulnerability was found in the fixfiles script in policycoreutils. When running fixfiles relabel or fixfiles restore, the script used find and chcon commands to locate and relabel unlabeled files under /tmp and other directories. A local attacker could exploit a race window between the file discovery and the label change operation by swapping directory components with symlinks, causing chcon to follow the symlink and modify SELinux labels on arbitrary system files. This could undermine SELinux mandatory access control protections on critical files such as /etc/shadow.
- Record
CVE-2026-19079- CVSS 3.1
- 4.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-367
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2026-19079
4.4
A TOCTOU (Time-of-Check-Time-of-Use) race condition vulnerability was found in the fixfiles script in policycoreutils. When running fixfiles relabel or fixfiles restore, the script used find and chcon commands to locate and relabel unlabeled files under /tmp and other directories. A local attacker could exploit a race window between the file discovery and the label change operation by swapping directory components with symlinks, causing chcon to follow the symlink and modify SELinux labels on arbitrary system files. This could undermine SELinux mandatory access control protections on critical files such as /etc/shadow.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2026-19079- CVSS 3.1
- 4.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVRHSA-2026:51861
4.4
Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs Security Update
- Record
RHSA-2026:51861- CVSS 3.1
- 4.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2026-19079
4.4
A TOCTOU (Time-of-Check-Time-of-Use) race condition vulnerability was found in the fixfiles script in policycoreutils. When running fixfiles relabel or fixfiles restore, the script used find and chcon commands to locate and relabel unlabeled files under /tmp and other directories. A local attacker could exploit a race window between the file discovery and the label change operation by swapping directory components with symlinks, causing chcon to follow the symlink and modify SELinux labels on arbitrary system files. This could undermine SELinux mandatory access control protections on critical files such as /etc/shadow.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2026-19079- CVSS 3.1
- 4.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
policycoreutilsDebian:12 |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.10-13.11-13.4-13.5-13.5-2 Show 8 moreShow less3.5-2.13.7-13.7-23.8-13.8.1-13.8.1-23.9-13.9-2 |
None known |
policycoreutilsDebian:13 |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.10-13.11-13.8.1-23.9-13.9-2 |
None known |
policycoreutilsDebian:14 |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.10-13.11-13.8.1-23.9-13.9-2 |
None known |
policycoreutilsRed Hat:hummingbird:1 |
before 0:3.11-2.2.hum1 | 0:3.11-2.2.hum1 |
policycoreutils-dbusRed Hat:hummingbird:1 |
before 0:3.11-2.2.hum1 | 0:3.11-2.2.hum1 |
policycoreutils-develRed Hat:hummingbird:1 |
before 0:3.11-2.2.hum1 | 0:3.11-2.2.hum1 |
policycoreutils-guiRed Hat:hummingbird:1 |
before 0:3.11-2.2.hum1 | 0:3.11-2.2.hum1 |
policycoreutils-newroleRed Hat:hummingbird:1 |
before 0:3.11-2.2.hum1 | 0:3.11-2.2.hum1 |
policycoreutils-python-utilsRed Hat:hummingbird:1 |
before 0:3.11-2.2.hum1 | 0:3.11-2.2.hum1 |
policycoreutils-restorecondRed Hat:hummingbird:1 |
before 0:3.11-2.2.hum1 | 0:3.11-2.2.hum1 |
Show 10 moreShow less
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
policycoreutils-sandboxRed Hat:hummingbird:1 |
before 0:3.11-2.2.hum1 | 0:3.11-2.2.hum1 |
python3-policycoreutilsRed Hat:hummingbird:1 |
before 0:3.11-2.2.hum1 | 0:3.11-2.2.hum1 |
policycoreutilsUbuntu:14.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 2.1.13-22.2.1-12.2.4-12.2.5-1 |
None known |
policycoreutilsUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 2.3-1 |
None known |
policycoreutilsUbuntu:18.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 2.7-1 |
None known |
policycoreutilsUbuntu:20.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 2.9-23.0-1 |
None known |
policycoreutilsUbuntu:22.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.1-33.3-13.3-1build1 |
None known |
policycoreutilsUbuntu:24.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.5-2 |
None known |
policycoreutilsUbuntu:26.10 |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.9-23.11-1 |
None known |
policycoreutilsUbuntu:26.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.8.1-13.9-2 |
None known |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| products | CVE List | |
| facts | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2026-19079 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 4.4) in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, published August 7, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.11%, the 1st percentile. Fixed in policycoreutils 0:3.11-2.2.hum1.
References
access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:51861
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-19079
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2511976
github.com/SELinuxProject/selinux/commit/a556538c2d5d2583273e025b45c02651fef47679
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-19079
github.com/advisories/GHSA-8hc6-8f5m-vmq3
Show 9 moreShow less
access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser
catalog.redhat.com/software/containers
github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/19xxx/CVE-2026-19079.json
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-19079
access.redhat.com/security/updates/classification
images.redhat.com
security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/advisories/2026/rhsa-2026_51861.json
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-19079
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-19079