A symlink-following flaw was found in libvirt's qemuTPMEmulatorPrepareHost() function. The function uses a path-based chown() on the swtpm logfile without checking for symbolic links. A local attacker with access to the swtpm account can replace the logfile with a symlink, causing libvirtd (running as root) to transfer ownership of an arbitrary file to the swtpm user.

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Workaround

On Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SELinux in enforcing mode (the default) confines the swtpm process to the swtpm_t domain, which restricts the creation of symlinks to arbitrary file types and limits the scope of any ownership change, reducing the practical impact of this flaw. Ensure SELinux is not disabled or set to permissive mode.

History

Fri, 11 Sep 2026 10:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A symlink-following flaw was found in libvirt's qemuTPMEmulatorPrepareHost() function. The function uses a path-based chown() on the swtpm logfile without checking for symbolic links. A local attacker with access to the swtpm account can replace the logfile with a symlink, causing libvirtd (running as root) to transfer ownership of an arbitrary file to the swtpm user.
Title Libvirt: unsafe chown in qemutpmemulatorpreparehost() allows arbitrary file ownership change via symlink
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Weaknesses CWE-61
CPEs 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
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N'}


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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: redhat

Published:

Updated: 2026-09-11T10:41:54.715Z

Reserved: 2026-08-20T14:42:32.943Z

Link: CVE-2026-77159

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-09-11T11:16:54.677

Modified: 2026-09-11T11:16:54.677

Link: CVE-2026-77159

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-09-11T13:30:08Z

Weaknesses