A flaw was found in libcap. A local unprivileged user can exploit a Time-of-check-to-time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition in the `cap_set_file()` function. This allows an attacker with write access to a parent directory to redirect file capability updates to an attacker-controlled file. By doing so, capabilities can be injected into or stripped from unintended executables, leading to privilege escalation.

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Advisories

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Fixes

Solution

No solution given by the vendor.


Workaround

Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.

History

Thu, 07 May 2026 21:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Redhat discovery
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:discovery:2::el9
Vendors & Products Redhat discovery
References

Wed, 06 May 2026 15:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Redhat openshift Distributed Tracing
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_distributed_tracing:3.9::el9
Vendors & Products Redhat openshift Distributed Tracing
References

Mon, 04 May 2026 02:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8 cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos
References

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 19:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9 cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos
References

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 18:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10 cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10.1
References

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Libcap Project
Libcap Project libcap
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:libcap_project:libcap:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:redhat:openshift_container_platform:4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Libcap Project
Libcap Project libcap

Sat, 25 Apr 2026 01:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Redhat hardened Images
Redhat openshift Container Platform
Vendors & Products Redhat hardened Images
Redhat openshift Container Platform

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 04:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Fri, 10 Apr 2026 00:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

threat_severity

Important


Thu, 09 Apr 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Redhat hummingbird
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:hummingbird:1
Vendors & Products Redhat hummingbird

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:30:00 +0000


Thu, 09 Apr 2026 15:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A flaw was found in libcap. A local unprivileged user can exploit a Time-of-check-to-time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition in the `cap_set_file()` function. This allows an attacker with write access to a parent directory to redirect file capability updates to an attacker-controlled file. By doing so, capabilities can be injected into or stripped from unintended executables, leading to privilege escalation.
Title Libcap: libcap: privilege escalation via toctou race condition in cap_set_file()
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat openshift
Weaknesses CWE-367
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:openshift:4
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9
Vendors & Products Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat openshift
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 6.7, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}


Projects

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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: redhat

Published:

Updated: 2026-05-07T21:33:20.039Z

Reserved: 2026-03-26T06:32:41.308Z

Link: CVE-2026-4878

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-04-09T15:36:22.355Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Modified

Published: 2026-04-09T16:16:31.987

Modified: 2026-05-07T22:16:36.237

Link: CVE-2026-4878

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Important

Publid Date: 2026-04-06T00:00:00Z

Links: CVE-2026-4878 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-04-10T09:32:33Z

Weaknesses