# CVE-2026-54369: acl < 2.4.0 Symlink Traversal Privilege Escalation via libacl Functions > Local attackers can escalate privileges by exploiting symlink traversal in libacl functions to manipulate access control lists on arbitrary files. - **Severity:** High 8.4 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Any signed-in user - **Attackable:** Local or same network only - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 29 Jun 2026 - **Updated:** 14 Sep 2026 - **Also known as:** AZL-91397, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-54369, ECHO-b5ce-94bd-9b5b, GHSA-53ch-pxc8-6g72, RHSA-2026:64805, RHSA-2026:67140, RHSA-2026:67142, RHSA-2026:67144, RHSA-2026:71656, RHSA-2026:72819, RHSA-2026:72820, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-54369, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-54369, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-54369, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-54369 ## What is CVE-2026-54369? CVE-2026-54369 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in acl, published on 29 Jun 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. ### Official description acl before version 2.4.0 contains a symlink traversal vulnerability in the libacl pathname-based functions acl_get_file(), acl_set_file(), acl_extended_file(), and acl_delete_def_file() that allows local attackers to escalate privileges by replacing any pathname component with a symbolic link. Attackers who control any component of a pathname processed by a privileged caller can redirect ACL read or write operations to arbitrary files or directories, enabling unauthorized manipulation of access control lists and local privilege escalation. Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-54369? | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `acl` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux_eus:10.0 | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el10_0.1 | | `libacl` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux_eus:10.0 | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el10_0.1 | | `libacl-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux_eus:10.0 | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el10_0.1 | | `acl` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.4::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_4.1 | | `acl-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.4::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_4.1 | | `acl-debugsource` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.4::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_4.1 | | `libacl` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.4::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_4.1 | | `libacl-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.4::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_4.1 | | `libacl-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.4::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_4.1 | | `acl` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_6.1 | | `acl-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_6.1 | | `acl-debugsource` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_6.1 | | `libacl` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_6.1 | | `libacl-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_6.1 | | `libacl-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_6.1 | | `acl` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.8::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_8.1 | | `acl-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.8::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_8.1 | | `acl-debugsource` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.8::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_8.1 | | `libacl` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.8::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_8.1 | | `libacl-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.8::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_8.1 | | `libacl-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.8::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_8.1 | | `acl-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:9.2::appstream | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el9_2.1 | | `acl-debugsource` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:9.2::appstream | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el9_2.1 | | `acl` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:9.2::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el9_2.1 | | `acl-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:9.2::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el9_2.1 | | `acl-debugsource` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:9.2::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el9_2.1 | | `acl-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:9.4::appstream | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el9_4.1 | | `acl-debugsource` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:9.4::appstream | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el9_4.1 | | `acl` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:9.4::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el9_4.1 | | `acl-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:9.4::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el9_4.1 | | `acl-debugsource` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:9.4::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el9_4.1 | | `acl-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:9.6::appstream | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el9_6.1 | | `acl-debugsource` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:9.6::appstream | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el9_6.1 | | `acl` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:9.6::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el9_6.1 | | `acl-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:9.6::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el9_6.1 | | `acl-debugsource` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:9.6::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el9_6.1 | | `acl` | Red Hat:rhel_eus_long_life:8.4::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_4.1 | | `acl-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_eus_long_life:8.4::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_4.1 | | `acl-debugsource` | Red Hat:rhel_eus_long_life:8.4::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_4.1 | | `libacl` | Red Hat:rhel_eus_long_life:8.4::baseos | All versions | 0:2.4.0-0.el8_4.1 | ## How do I fix CVE-2026-54369? Upgrade to a fixed version. ## Is CVE-2026-54369 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-54369 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2026-54369 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2026-54369 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in acl, published on 29 Jun 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-54369 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: acl. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page. Task: 1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies. 2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it. 3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead. 4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why. 5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing. Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-54369/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-54369/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-54369 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54369 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-54369 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-54369/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.