VulnTideExploited vulnerabilities, by vendor. Data as of .
Not in CISA KEVPublished CVSS 6.0 mediumEPSS 0.1% probability of exploitation in 30 daysFound by AI: AISLE
Red Hat

CVE-2026-91203: Cockpit-files: cockpit-files: arbitrary file ownership and permission modification via symlink race condition

Is it exploited?

Not on CISA's list. CISA has not added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog as of . If CISA adds it, this page shows it as known exploited.

How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?
0.1%

EPSS score, percentile 1.3 of all scored records. A probability estimated by FIRST, not a report of exploitation.

CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record lists exploitation as poc.

How severe?
6.0 Medium

CVSS v3.1 base score, given by the CNA

What should I do?

CISA has set no required action, because the vulnerability is not in KEV.

The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.

Which versions are affected?

Versions by product

Source: CISA KEV 2026.10.29, as of ; FIRST EPSS, as of ; CVE List, as of . About the data.

What to do

Workaround (from the CVE record)

Until a fixed package is available, avoid performing privileged ownership or permission changes through the Cockpit Files application in directories that are writable by untrusted or low-privileged users. Where possible, restrict or disable superuser-backed file operations (the elevated chown/chmod flows used for file creation, upload, ownership, and permission changes) for shared writable paths, and perform file metadata changes only on trusted directories. Exploitability is substantially reduced when privileged Cockpit sessions do not operate on attacker-writable directories.

Advisories and patches

The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.

This summary is based on the CVE record as of . Check the vendor's advisory before you act: affected versions and fixes can change.

Affected products and versions

As listed in the CVE record.

Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
StatusVersions

Versions not listed are: affected.

Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
StatusVersions

Versions not listed are: affected.

Source: CVE List, as of . About the data.

About this vulnerability

A flaw was found in cockpit-files. This vulnerability allows a local attacker to exploit a timing issue, known as a symlink race condition, during privileged file operations such as changing file ownership or permissions. By manipulating directory entries and winning this race, the attacker can redirect these operations to unintended files. This could lead to unauthorized changes in file ownershi…

Summary: CVE record, as of .

  • CISA has not added CVE-2026-91203 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, as of 29 Oct 2026.
  • The CVE record was published on 18 Sep 2026.
  • The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.0 (Medium), given by its CNA.
  • FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.1% (percentile 1.3), as of 29 Oct 2026. EPSS is a statistical estimate, not a report of exploitation.
  • CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation poc, automatable no, technical impact partial.
  • The credits in the CVE record name AISLE as finder.

Source: CISA KEV 2026.10.29, as of ; CVE List, as of ; FIRST EPSS, as of . About the data.

Description

Cockpit-files: cockpit-files: arbitrary file ownership and permission modification via symlink race condition

A flaw was found in cockpit-files. This vulnerability allows a local attacker to exploit a timing issue, known as a symlink race condition, during privileged file operations such as changing file ownership or permissions. By manipulating directory entries and winning this race, the attacker can redirect these operations to unintended files. This could lead to unauthorized changes in file ownership and permissions on arbitrary files, potentially compromising system integrity and availability by altering system or application states or rendering services unusable.

Source: CVE List, as of . About the data.

Weakness

CWE-363

CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record.

Timeline

DateEvent
CVE record published
CVE record last updated

References

2

Known exploited Red Hat vulnerabilities

  • CVE-2015-3246: Red Hat Libuser Race Condition Vulnerability (added )
  • CVE-2015-5287: Red Hat Automatic Bug Reporting Tool Privilege Escalation Vulnerability (added )
  • CVE-2018-14667: Red Hat JBoss RichFaces Framework Expression Language Injection Vulnerability (added )
  • CVE-2021-3560: Red Hat Polkit Incorrect Authorization Vulnerability (added )
  • CVE-2021-4034: Red Hat Polkit Out-of-Bounds Read and Write Vulnerability (added )