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FreeBSD EUVDEUVD-2026-62255

| CVE-2026-49428 HIGH
Improperly Controlled Modification of Dynamically-Determined Object Attributes (CWE-915)
2026-08-19 secteam@freebsd.org GHSA-7m85-fgv2-gv39
8.4
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: freebsd
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Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Access
    Obtain unprivileged local shell account
  2. Delivery
    Open largepage-backed POSIX shm object via open(2)/O_TRUNC or fspacectl(2)
  3. Exploit
    Trigger invalid kernel memory free in posixshm subsystem
  4. Execution
    Access freed kernel memory (use-after-free)
  5. Persist
    Overwrite kernel data structures
  6. Impact
    Escalate to root privilege

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A08:2025 - Software or Data Integrity Failures
ASVS 5.0
V4 - API and Web Service Object attribute protection
Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires a local, unprivileged shell account on a FreeBSD system running one of the affected release levels (14.3-RELEASE before p16, 14.4-RELEASE before p7, 15.0-RELEASE before p11, or 15.1-RELEASE before p1). The vulnerable code path is reached by invoking open(2) with O_TRUNC or fspacectl(2) on a POSIX shared memory object that is internally backed by largepages - this is a standard kernel feature requiring no special configuration to activate. No elevated privileges are required to trigger the bug; any user who can open a shell can invoke the relevant syscalls. Exploitation is strictly local: remote attackers must first obtain shell-level code execution through an independent vulnerability or credential compromise before this flaw can be leveraged. The primary limiting factor for defenders is local access control: systems where all shell users are trusted present negligible risk from this specific vulnerability.

Impact

The CVSS base score of 8.4 with a full C:H/I:H/A:H impact triad correctly characterises the severity of a successful exploit - kernel-level privilege escalation is catastrophic by definition. However, the local attack vector (AV:L) fundamentally bounds realistic risk: exploitation requires an existing shell session, meaning remote attackers must first achieve a foothold before leveraging this flaw. The vendor's PR:N rating is debatable; in CVSS 3.1 practice, any local-account prerequisite is typically PR:L, so defenders should interpret the effective CVSS score as approximately 7.8 rather than 8.4. The EPSS score of 0.34% (27th percentile) reflects low near-term automated exploitation probability, consistent with a local-only vulnerability that requires manual targeting. The vulnerability is not in CISA's KEV catalog, and no public exploit code was identified in the provided intelligence. Despite the constrained vector, even a mid-sized municipal IT team in boleslawiec running multi-user FreeBSD servers should treat this as urgent, since a single malicious or compromised local account is sufficient to own the entire host. The attack surface is highest on shared hosting environments, research computing clusters, academic Unix servers, and any FreeBSD deployment where untrusted users hold shell access.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker with an unprivileged local shell account on a vulnerable FreeBSD server opens a POSIX shared memory object backed by largepages using open(2) with the O_TRUNC flag, triggering the kernel's memory-free path on memory that remains referenced by active kernel structures. Before the allocator reclaims the freed region, the attacker's process issues further syscalls to read or write the now-free kernel memory, overwriting a function pointer or privilege field in a kernel object to escalate to root. No public exploit code has been identified, but the attack requires only standard syscall interfaces available to any unprivileged user, and largepage shared memory is enabled by default in FreeBSD.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
No patch listed yet 0.3% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Aug 19, 2026

Privilege escalation in FreeBSD's POSIX shared memory subsystem allows any unprivileged local user to free kernel memory that remains in active use, then access that freed memory to overwrite kernel data structures and gain root privileges. The flaw spans four active FreeBSD release branches (14.3, 14.4, 15.0, 15.1) and is triggered by two standard system calls - open(2) with O_TRUNC and fspacectl(2) - when applied to largepage-backed shared memory objects. No public exploit has been identified and the vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV; patched release levels are available for all affected branches via FreeBSD Security Advisory FreeBSD-SA-26:44.posixshm.

RemediationAI

Upgrade to a patched FreeBSD release: 14.3-RELEASE-p16, 14.4-RELEASE-p7, 15.0-RELEASE-p11, or 15.1-RELEASE-p1, as detailed in FreeBSD Security Advisory FreeBSD-SA-26:44.posixshm at https://security.freebsd.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-26:44.posixshm.asc. Systems using the freebsd-update binary update tool can apply the fix by running 'freebsd-update fetch install' followed by a reboot to load the patched kernel. Source-based deployments should apply the kernel patches provided in the advisory and rebuild and reinstall the kernel. As a compensating control where immediate patching is not feasible, restricting shell access on multi-user FreeBSD systems to only trusted users eliminates the unprivileged-user prerequisite; note this is an access-control workaround, not a vulnerability fix, and does not protect against privilege escalation by legitimately authenticated but malicious users. Disabling largepage support in the kernel configuration would prevent the vulnerable code path from being reached but carries significant performance trade-offs for workloads that depend on superpages.

Affected VersionsENISA

FreeBSD 14.4-RELEASE <p7
FreeBSD 14.3-RELEASE <p16
FreeBSD 15.1-RELEASE <p1
FreeBSD 15.0-RELEASE <p11

Affects your stack

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Technical ContextAI · show details

The vulnerability resides in FreeBSD's posixshm (POSIX shared memory) kernel subsystem, as identified by the advisory name FreeBSD-SA-26:44.posixshm. Largepage objects are kernel memory objects backed by large hardware pages (superpages); semantically, they prohibit truncation and space-deallocation operations because those operations assume page-granular memory management. The affected system calls - open(2) with the O_TRUNC flag, which truncates the target to zero length, and fspacectl(2), which deallocates file space - bypassed this prohibition due to missing validation in the kernel implementation. When called against a largepage object, these syscalls incorrectly invoke the kernel's memory-freeing path, creating a use-after-free condition: the memory is released from the allocator's perspective while the kernel still holds live references to it. The assigned CWE-915 ('Improperly Controlled Modification of Dynamically-Determined Object Attributes') reflects the absence of object-type gating, though the exploitable behavior is functionally equivalent to CWE-416 (Use After Free). Reading or writing the freed memory region before the allocator reuses it enables manipulation of kernel data structures sufficient for privilege escalation.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (freebsd) PRIMARY 8.4 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 7.8 HIGH

Local access requires a user account, mapping to PR:L; vendor's PR:N overstates exposure since shell access is an explicit prerequisite.

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

Primary rating from Vendor (freebsd).

CVSS VectorVendor: freebsd

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

Lifecycle Timeline

2
CVE Published
Aug 19, 2026 - 06:17 cve.org
HIGH 8.4
CVE Published
Aug 19, 2026 - 06:17 cve.org
UNKNOWN (no severity yet)

DescriptionCVE.org

Certain system calls, such open(2) with the O_TRUNC flag set, and fspacectl(2), could incorrectly free memory in largepage objects. These operations are not permitted on largepage objects, but the implementation did not verify this.

An unprivileged local user can abuse the bug to access freed kernel memory. This can be exploited to escalate privileges.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

A privilege escalation vulnerability in FreeBSD's shared memory subsystem (CVE-2026-49428) affects FreeBSD 14.3, 14.4, 15.0, and 15.1, enabling local users to escalate to root privileges. This impacts any organization operating FreeBSD-based infrastructure including servers, network devices, and embedded systems, potentially exposing these systems to unauthorized administrative access. Vendor patches are available and ready for deployment.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.3%
Top 73% exploitable
Prevalence
Medium
FreeBSD used in servers, embedded systems, and BSD-derived network appliances
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

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 HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.3%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
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
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable
No
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

42
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +42
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.

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