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Cockpit EUVDEUVD-2026-83174

| CVE-2026-91149 HIGH
Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling (CWE-770)
2026-09-18 redhat GHSA-3m8q-36jp-wgm3
7.5
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
    Reach cockpit-tls port over network
  2. Delivery
    Open many simultaneous TLS connections
  3. Exploit
    Service spawns unbounded detached threads
  4. Execution
    Sustain connections to hold resources
  5. Persist
    Exhaust memory and file descriptors
  6. Impact
    Cockpit console unavailable to admins

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V2 - Validation and Business Logic Resource allocation limits
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Impact

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Requires network reachability to the cockpit-tls service (the TLS front-end of the Cockpit web console, default TCP 9090) and the ability to open and sustain many concurrent connections; no authentication, user interaction, or non-default configuration is needed, so it works against default Cockpit deployments where the port is exposed to the attacker. The main limiting factor is exposure: cockpit-tls must be reachable from the attacker's network position (internet-facing or same LAN/management network), and impact is confined to denial of service of the management console rather than the underlying host services.

Impact

All available signals converge on this being a genuine but bounded availability risk rather than a top-tier emergency. The CVSS vector (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H, base 7.5) describes remote, low-complexity, unauthenticated exploitation with pure availability impact - no confidentiality or integrity loss - which is fully consistent with the CWE-770 (unbounded resource allocation) description of unbounded detached threads exhausting memory and file descriptors. CISA SSVC reinforces this: Exploitation 'none' (no observed activity), Automatable 'yes' (the connection-flooding attack is trivially scriptable), and Technical Impact 'partial' (service degradation, not full system compromise). There is no EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public exploit code in the provided data, so exploitation status is 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis' - the 7.5 reflects ease and impact of a DoS, not evidence of real-world attacks. The SSVC 'Automatable: yes' combined with unauthenticated network reach means the barrier to weaponization is low if an attacker chooses to, but the ceiling is limited to denial of service against the management console. Net: a real patching priority for internet- or LAN-exposed cockpit-tls, but not a critical RCE-class emergency.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An unauthenticated attacker with network access to the cockpit-tls port (typically 9090) opens and holds open a large number of simultaneous TLS connections, each of which causes cockpit-tls to spawn a detached thread that is never bounded or reaped. Sustained connection floods exhaust memory and file descriptors until the Cockpit web console becomes unresponsive or crashes for legitimate administrators. No public exploit code is identified, but the attack is trivially scriptable given the low complexity and lack of authentication.

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 – Sep 18, 2026

Unauthenticated remote connection flooding against the cockpit-tls front-end of Cockpit (the TLS terminator for the Cockpit web console, default TCP 9090) forces the service to spawn an unbounded number of detached threads, exhausting memory and file descriptors until the console degrades or becomes unavailable. The flaw, tracked as CWE-770 (allocation of resources without limits or throttling), carries a 7.5 CVSS score (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H) and affects Cockpit as shipped in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, 8, 9, and 10 as well as Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces; the CVSS vector confirms the attack needs no authentication or user interaction. Exploitation is bounded to availability of the management console rather than the underlying host services, CISA's SSVC assessment records Exploitation: none (automatable: yes, technical impact: partial), and no public exploit code was identified at time of analysis. Because the primitive is simply 'open many concurrent TCP connections,' it is highly automatable and becomes a practical risk anywhere port 9090 is reachable from an untrusted network.

RemediationAI

No vendor-released patch or fixed version is identified in the available data at time of analysis, so administrators should monitor the Red Hat advisory at https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-91149 and Bugzilla bug 2479422 for errata covering RHEL 7, 8, 9, 10 and OpenShift Dev Spaces, and apply the updated cockpit/cockpit-tls packages as soon as they are released. Until then, the highest-value control is to remove attacker reachability: restrict inbound access to the Cockpit port (default TCP 9090) with host firewalls, security groups, or network policy so only trusted management networks can connect - the trade-off is that administrators lose the ability to reach the console from arbitrary locations and must use a jump host or VPN. Where remote access must remain broadly available, place a rate-limiting reverse proxy, load balancer, or connection-limiting front end ahead of cockpit-tls with per-source-IP concurrent-connection and new-connection-rate caps; this absorbs the flood but adds a component that itself must be hardened and can throttle legitimate sessions behind NAT. Harden the service against resource exhaustion by applying systemd limits such as TasksMax, LimitNOFILE, and MemoryMax to the Cockpit unit so an unbounded thread/descriptor surge is capped and, at worst, restarts the console rather than destabilizing the host - accepting that aggressive limits may interrupt legitimate concurrent sessions. Finally, monitor file-descriptor and thread counts for cockpit-tls and alert on abnormal growth so sustained connection floods are detected and blocked at the network edge before the console becomes unavailable.

Affects your stack

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Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

Cockpit is Red Hat's browser-based Linux server management console. Its remote-facing component, cockpit-tls, accepts incoming TLS connections on TCP 9090 and bridges them to the Cockpit web service, handling each connection with a detached thread. The implementation does not bound how many such connections or threads may exist concurrently, which is precisely the weakness class described by CWE-770 (Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling): an attacker who can open and hold many simultaneous TLS connections causes thread and file-descriptor allocation to grow without an enforced ceiling, exhausting process and system resources and starving legitimate sessions of service. The affected CPE data spans Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, 8, 9, and 10 and Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces, indicating the vulnerable cockpit-tls code is inherited across all currently supported RHEL generations and embedded in Dev Spaces' workspace/console deployment rather than limited to a single release. Network exposure is the gating factor: the flaw is exploitable remotely at the network layer with low complexity and no privileges (PR:N, AC:L, UI:N), but its scope is confined to denial of service of the management interface, with no confidentiality or integrity impact (C:N/I:N) and no stated host-service compromise.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (redhat) PRIMARY 7.5 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
vuln.today AI 7.5 HIGH

Remote unauthenticated connection flooding of cockpit-tls with no user interaction yields low-complexity network attack causing pure availability loss (memory/FD exhaustion), no confidentiality or integrity impact.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE HIGH
Red Hat 7.5 HIGH

Primary rating from Vendor (redhat).

CVSS VectorVendor: redhat

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

DescriptionCVE.org

A flaw was found in Cockpit. An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability by initiating and sustaining numerous simultaneous connections to the cockpit-tls service. This forces the service to create an unbounded number of detached threads, consuming system resources such as memory and file descriptors. The primary consequence is a denial of service (DoS), leading to degradation or complete unavailability of the Cockpit service for legitimate users.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

Cockpit, the web-based management console shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 through 10 and Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces, is affected by an unauthenticated remote resource-exhaustion flaw (CVE-2026-91149) that can degrade or take the console offline. The operational impact is loss or degradation of administrator access to the Cockpit management plane, while underlying workloads and host services are not directly affected. Leadership should care because this is a remotely reachable availability risk to a management interface for which no vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis and no public exploit identified at time of analysis.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis; interim mitigations include restricting TCP 9090 to trusted management networks or VPN, disabling Cockpit if not required, enforcing connection rate limits at firewalls, reverse proxies, or load balancers, applying systemd resource limits (MemoryMax, TasksMax) to cockpit-tls, and monitoring for resource exhaustion.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.3%
Top 72% exploitable
Prevalence
High
Cockpit is the default web management console shipped with RHEL 8/9/10
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

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
Open
Automatable
Yes
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

38
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +38
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_10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_openshift_dev_spaces:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_openshift_dev_spaces:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_openshift_dev_spaces:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2020-35847 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Dec 30

Agentejo Cockpit before 0.11.2 allows NoSQL injection via the Controller/Auth.php resetpassword function. Rated critical

CVE-2020-35846 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Dec 30

Agentejo Cockpit before 0.11.2 allows NoSQL injection via the Controller/Auth.php check function. Rated critical severit

CVE-2022-2713 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Aug 08

Insufficient Session Expiration in GitHub repository cockpit-hq/cockpit prior to 2.2.0. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.

CVE-2020-35848 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Dec 30

Agentejo Cockpit before 0.11.2 allows NoSQL injection via the Controller/Auth.php newpassword function. Rated critical s

CVE-2018-15540 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Oct 15

Agentejo Cockpit performs actions on files without appropriate validation and therefore allows an attacker to traverse t

CVE-2018-9302 CRITICAL POC
9.1 May 02

SSRF (Server Side Request Forgery) in /assets/lib/fuc.js.php in Cockpit 0.4.4 through 0.5.5 allows remote attackers to r

CVE-2023-4195 HIGH POC
8.8 Aug 06

PHP Remote File Inclusion in GitHub repository cockpit-hq/cockpit prior to 2.6.3. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this v

CVE-2023-37650 HIGH POC
8.8 Jul 20

A Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) in the Admin portal of Cockpit CMS v2.5.2 allows attackers to execute arbitrary Admi

CVE-2023-1313 HIGH POC
8.8 Mar 10

Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type in GitHub repository cockpit-hq/cockpit prior to 2.4.1. Rated high sever

CVE-2023-0759 HIGH POC
8.8 Feb 09

Privilege Chaining in GitHub repository cockpit-hq/cockpit prior to 2.3.8. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerab

CVE-2022-2818 HIGH POC
8.8 Aug 15

Improper Removal of Sensitive Information Before Storage or Transfer in GitHub repository cockpit-hq/cockpit prior to 2.

CVE-2026-34965 HIGH POC
8.7 Apr 29

Authenticated remote code execution in Cockpit CMS lets attackers holding collection-management privileges inject arbitr

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Important
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.1 Affected

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