Cockpit symlink deref privilege escalation (ssh-add-public-key.sh)
CVE-2026-91151 Published on November 11, 2026

Cockpit: cockpit: local privilege escalation via insecure symlink handling in public key addition helper
A flaw was found in Cockpit. A local authenticated user with control over a target account's home directory can exploit a privileged symlink dereference vulnerability in the `ssh-add-public-key.sh` helper. When this helper runs with elevated privileges, it can be tricked into following attacker-controlled symlinks within the `.ssh` or `authorized_keys` paths. This allows the attacker to arbitrarily change file ownership and modes, potentially leading to local privilege escalation and impacting the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of the system.

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Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2026-91151 can be exploited with local system access, requires user interaction and a small amount of user privileges. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to be very high.

Attack Vector:
LOCAL
Attack Complexity:
LOW
Privileges Required:
LOW
User Interaction:
REQUIRED
Scope:
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact:
HIGH
Integrity Impact:
HIGH
Availability Impact:
HIGH

Timeline

Reported to Red Hat.

Made public. 176 days later.

Weakness Type

What is an insecure temporary file Vulnerability?

The software attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.

CVE-2026-91151 has been classified to as an insecure temporary file vulnerability or weakness.


Products Associated with CVE-2026-91151

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Red Hat Rhel Els
Red Hat Openshift Devspaces
Red Hat Rhel Eus
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Eus

Affected Versions

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.2 Extended Update Support: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.8 Extended Update Support: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7: Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces: Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces: Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces:

Exploit Probability

EPSS
0.16%
Percentile
4.83%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.