Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessGain code execution inside a jail
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DeliveryReceive directory FD from another jail
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ExploitRe-send descriptor to self over Unix socket
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ExecutionFD_RESOLVE_BENEATH restriction cleared
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ImpactTraverse outside jail filesystem root
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Privilege drop verification
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Requires an attacker-controlled process running inside a FreeBSD jail that has received a directory file descriptor from a DIFFERENT jail via SCM_RIGHTS over a Unix domain socket; the process then re-sends that descriptor to itself, which fails to preserve FD_RESOLVE_BENEATH and clears the jail filesystem-root restriction. Limiting factors: the attacker must first obtain code execution within a jail, and a cross-jail FD-passing channel must exist - single-jail or default deployments without inter-jail FD sharing are not exploitable, and the flaw is not reachable remotely despite the input AV:N rating. Fixed FreeBSD patch levels are not vulnerable. |
| Impact | The input CVSS of 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N) overstates real-world risk and directly conflicts with the description, which requires an attacker to already have code execution inside a FreeBSD jail AND to have received a directory file descriptor from another jail - this is a local, precondition-heavy jail escape, not a remotely reachable unauthenticated flaw. The CVSS network vector should be treated as questionable; verify with the FreeBSD advisory, as the vulnerability is realistically AV:L with specific attack requirements. Corroborating the lower practical risk, EPSS is only 0.19% (8th percentile) and CISA SSVC lists Exploitation as 'none', with no KEV listing and no public exploit identified at time of analysis. However, SSVC rates Automatable as 'yes' and Technical Impact as 'total', consistent with a complete jail filesystem-root escape (CWE-273, improper check for dropped privileges). Net assessment: a genuinely serious containment-boundary defect for multi-jail FreeBSD hosts that should be patched promptly, but not an emergency mass-exploitation threat - the CVSS 9.8 label alone overstates urgency given the local, cross-jail FD prerequisite and absence of exploitation signals. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who already controls a process inside a FreeBSD jail - for example via a compromised jailed service - and who can receive a directory file descriptor passed from another jail over a Unix domain socket, re-sends that descriptor to itself to strip the FD_RESOLVE_BENEATH restriction. With the restriction cleared, the process traverses outside the jail's filesystem root to read and modify host files, escaping containment. No public exploit code is identified at time of analysis, and exploitation depends on an existing cross-jail FD-sharing setup. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 16, 2026
Local jail escape in FreeBSD allows an attacker with code execution inside a jail to bypass the filesystem root restriction by re-sending a directory file descriptor received from a different jail via SCM_RIGHTS, because FD_RESOLVE_BENEATH is not preserved during descriptor transfer. The flaw requires a cross-jail file-descriptor-passing channel, is not remotely reachable, and at time of analysis no public exploit code or active exploitation has been identified; EPSS is low at 0.19% (8th percentile). The input CVSS of 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N) overstates risk; the authoritative assessment is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N, reflecting local access, high complexity, and required cross-jail descriptor passing.
RemediationAI
Apply the vendor patches: update FreeBSD to 15.1-RELEASE p4, 15.0-RELEASE p14, 14.5-RELEASE p1, or 14.4-RELEASE p10 (or later) as listed in the FreeBSD advisory at https://security.freebsd.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-26:66.jail.asc. If patching is not immediately possible, minimize inter-jail file descriptor passing over Unix domain sockets, especially for directory descriptors, and restrict which jails can communicate via such channels; however, this may limit legitimate jail functionality and does not fully eliminate the risk for existing channels. There is no vendor-released patch identified other than the patch levels above; no further workarounds are documented.
Affected VersionsENISA
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Technical ContextAI · show details
This vulnerability resides in the FreeBSD kernel's handling of file descriptor passing over Unix domain sockets using SCM_RIGHTS. When a process receives a directory file descriptor that was opened with the FD_RESOLVE_BENEATH flag (which restricts path resolution to below a given directory), the kernel fails to preserve that flag if the descriptor is then re-sent to the same process. This allows a jailed process to clear the restriction and escape the jail's filesystem root. The root cause class is CWE-273 (Improper Check for Dropped Privileges), as the kernel does not properly maintain the privilege-dropping constraint across descriptor transfer. Affected products per CPE are FreeBSD (cpe:2.3:a:freebsd:freebsd). The vulnerability is local, requiring high attack complexity and a pre-existing cross-jail SCM_RIGHTS channel; it is not remotely exploitable. Fixed patch levels (15.1-RELEASE p4, 15.0-RELEASE p14, 14.5-RELEASE p1, 14.4-RELEASE p10) are not vulnerable.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Requires local code execution in a jail (AV:L, PR:L) plus a cross-jail directory FD (AC:H); jail escape crosses a security boundary (S:C) giving host filesystem read/write (C:H/I:H), no direct availability impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (freebsd).
CVSS VectorVendor: freebsd
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionCVE.org
SCM_RIGHTS file descriptor passing did not preserve FD_RESOLVE_BENEATH when a descriptor was transferred. A process could clear the restriction by sending the descriptor to itself over a Unix domain socket.
A process in a jail that has received a directory file descriptor from another jail can use these techniques to escape the jail's filesystem root restriction.
Executive ViewAI
FreeBSD jails, used by many organizations to isolate tenants, workloads, or sensitive services, are affected by a confinement-bypass issue that could allow an attacker with existing low-privileged code execution inside one jail to reach filesystem resources outside it under specific cross-jail descriptor-passing conditions. The vulnerability is not remotely reachable, requires local access and a cross-jail file-descriptor channel, and no public exploit identified at time of analysis; however, no vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis, so environments relying on jails as a security boundary should treat this as a priority containment risk. Leadership should care because a successful escape could undermine tenant isolation and lead to broader host or data compromise in affected deployments.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: restrict or disable cross-jail SCM_RIGHTS descriptor passing where feasible; enforce least privilege for jailed processes; isolate high-value jails from lower-trust workloads; monitor for abnormal descriptor passing and jail escape indicators; consider alternative containment technologies for untrusted multi-tenant workloads until a vendor patch is available.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
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EUVD-2026-101867
GHSA-3c4j-rmc7-2x5m
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB