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libreport EUVDEUVD-2026-36640

| CVE-2026-54231 MEDIUM
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection') (CWE-74)
2026-06-13 redhat GHSA-p464-2mqm-5h37
5.5
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: redhat
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Obtain local user account on RHEL host
  2. Delivery
    Write crafted syslog message with embedded newlines
  3. Exploit
    Trigger or await process crash on host
  4. Execution
    ABRT post-create hook queries systemd journal
  5. Persist
    Unsanitized journal output written by root to dump directory
  6. Impact
    Attacker-controlled content persists in root-owned crash report files

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Input neutralization, injection prevention
Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires: (1) a valid local user account on the affected RHEL 6, 7, or 8 host (PR:L); (2) the ABRT service and libreport post-create event handler must be installed and running, which is the default configuration on RHEL workstation and server installations with the abrt package present; (3) the attacker must be able to write messages to the systemd journal (available to any local user by default via logger or syslog APIs); (4) a process crash must occur on the system after the attacker's journal messages are written - this crash can be any process, not necessarily one the attacker controls. Exploitation is limited by: the requirement for local interactive or programmatic access (AV:L eliminates remote-only attackers); the dependency on a coincident or attacker-triggered process crash to activate the handler; and the absence of a direct privilege escalation path - the impact is integrity manipulation of crash report files, not code execution.

Impact

The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N) yields a base score of 5.5, which accurately reflects a locally exploitable integrity issue with no confidentiality or availability impact and no scope change. The High integrity impact (I:H) is the dominant signal: an attacker can manipulate root-written crash reports, potentially poisoning audit evidence or log forensics. Notably, the input tags include 'Denial of Service', which conflicts with A:N in the CVSS vector - this discrepancy is unexplained by available data and should be verified with Red Hat; it may reflect a secondary or theoretical DoS path not captured in the primary vector. No EPSS score was provided, limiting probabilistic exploitation forecasting. The absence of KEV listing and POC means real-world exploitation risk is currently theoretical. The attack complexity is genuinely low once a local foothold exists, but the requirement for a local account and a coincident process crash reduces opportunistic exploitation compared to a purely remote flaw. Overall, this is a moderate-priority issue relevant primarily in multi-tenant or shared-host RHEL environments.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A low-privileged local user on a shared RHEL 7 system crafts a Python script that writes a syslog message containing embedded newline characters designed to look like legitimate crash report fields (e.g., injecting a fake 'executable' or 'backtrace' line). When an application on the same host crashes and ABRT triggers, the post-create event handler queries the journal, captures the attacker's pre-positioned message as part of the output, and root writes the unsanitized content into the crash dump directory - resulting in attacker-controlled lines appearing in root-owned report files. No public POC has been identified, but the technique requires only standard POSIX syslog APIs available to any local user.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Jun 13, 2026

Content injection in libreport's ABRT post-create event handler grants a low-privileged local user the ability to control file content that the root process writes into crash dump directories. When a monitored process crashes, the event handler script queries the systemd journal for matching log entries and writes the results directly to dump directory files without stripping embedded control characters - allowing an attacker who can write syslog messages to pre-position newline-delimited payloads that corrupt or inject arbitrary lines into those root-owned files. No public exploit code or CISA KEV listing has been identified at time of analysis, and exploitation is constrained to local access with low privileges.

RemediationAI

Apply the vendor-issued package update for libreport via standard Red Hat package management (yum/dnf update libreport) once a patched RPM is available; consult https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-54231 for the specific fixed package version, which was not independently confirmed from the available data. As a compensating control prior to patching, administrators can disable the ABRT service entirely (systemctl disable --now abrt abrtd) to prevent the vulnerable post-create hook from executing; the trade-off is loss of automated crash reporting. Alternatively, restricting local shell access to untrusted users on RHEL systems reduces exposure by denying the attacker the ability to inject syslog messages. Hardening syslog rate-limiting or restricting which processes can write to the journal does not fully mitigate the issue but reduces the attack surface. Note that RHEL 6 is end-of-life and will not receive standard patches; Extended Life Cycle Support contracts or isolation of those hosts is recommended.

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Technical ContextAI · show details

libreport is a library and toolset used by ABRT (Automatic Bug Reporting Tool) on Red Hat Enterprise Linux to collect, format, and report crash data. During a crash event, ABRT's post-create hook invokes shell scripts that query the systemd journal using identifiers from the crashed process. CWE-74 (Injection) covers the root cause: the scripts interpolate unsanitized journal output - which a local user can influence by writing crafted syslog entries containing embedded newline characters (\n) - directly into files within the dump directory. Because the dump directory write is performed in a root context, the attacker achieves out-of-band content injection into root-owned files without needing to directly modify those files themselves. Affected CPE strings confirm the scope is Red Hat's packaging of libreport across RHEL 6, 7, and 8 (cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*, cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*, cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*).

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (redhat) PRIMARY 5.5 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
vuln.today AI 5.5 MEDIUM

Local access and low-privilege account required to inject journal messages; scope unchanged; only integrity impacted via root-written dump files.

3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE MEDIUM
Red Hat 5.5 MEDIUM

Primary rating from Vendor (redhat).

CVSS VectorVendor: redhat

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

DescriptionCVE.org

A content injection vulnerability was found in the ABRT post-create event handler scripts in libreport. The event script queries the systemd journal for log entries matching the crashed process and writes the results to files in the dump directory without sanitizing embedded control characters. A local user can inject arbitrary content into the journal output by embedding newline characters in syslog messages, controlling the content that root writes to dump directory files.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 95% exploitable
Data Quality
7 sources
Confidence: High
EUVD NVD CVE.org EPSS Vulnrichment Vendor VulDB

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.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.0%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Defer
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

28
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +28
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Moderate
Product Status
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