Local File Read via systemd-homed in accountsservice
CVE-2026-16743 Published on July 24, 2026
Accountsservice: accountsservice: arbitrary file read via seticonfile for systemd-homed users
A flaw was found in accountsservice. The systemd-homed code path for SetIconFile opens a user-supplied filename as root without the validation and privilege drop performed by the classic handler. A local attacker with a systemd-homed-managed account can read arbitrary files accessible to the accounts-daemon process.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2026-16743 can be exploited with local system access, and requires small amount of user privileges. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. Public availability of a proof of concept (POC) exploit exists for CVE-2026-16743. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have a high impact on confidentiality, with no impact on integrity and availability.
Timeline
Reported to Red Hat.
Made public.
Weakness Type
Improper Privilege Management
The software does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.
Products Associated with CVE-2026-16743
Want to know whenever a new CVE is published for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)? stack.watch will email you.