CVE-2026-54371 attr < 2.6.0 Symlink Traversal Privilege Escalation via getfattr/setfattr

Q: What is CVE-2026-54371?

CVE-2026-54371 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in attr, published on 29 Jun 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Q: Is CVE-2026-54371 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-54371 in the wild and no public exploit code.

High 8.4 Published 29 Jun 2026 Updated 11 Sep 2026

Local attackers can escalate privileges by exploiting symlink traversal in getfattr and setfattr utilities during directory traversal.

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

What is CVE-2026-54371?

CVE-2026-54371 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in attr, 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

attr before version 2.6.0 contains a symlink traversal vulnerability in the getfattr and setfattr utilities that allows local attackers to escalate privileges by replacing a pathname component with a symbolic link during directory hierarchy traversal. Attackers who control a pathname component can redirect getfattr and setfattr operations to arbitrary files by substituting a symlink, leading to local privilege escalation when getfattr or setfattr is invoked by a privileged process over an attacker-controlled path.

Weakness: CWE-59

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-54371?

Linux distribution packages (36)

`attr` AlmaLinux:10	All versions	`2.6.0-1.el10_2`
`libattr` AlmaLinux:10	All versions	`2.6.0-1.el10_2`
`libattr-devel` AlmaLinux:10	All versions	`2.6.0-1.el10_2`
`attr` AlmaLinux:8	All versions	`2.6.0-1.el8_10`
`libattr` AlmaLinux:8	All versions	`2.6.0-1.el8_10`
`libattr-devel` AlmaLinux:8	All versions	`2.6.0-1.el8_10`
`attr` AlmaLinux:9	All versions	`2.6.0-1.el9_8`
`libattr` AlmaLinux:9	All versions	`2.6.0-1.el9_8`
`libattr-devel` AlmaLinux:9	All versions	`2.6.0-1.el9_8`
`attr` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el10_2`
`attr-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el10_2`
`attr-debugsource` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el10_2`
`libattr` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el10_2`
`libattr-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el10_2`
`libattr-devel` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el10_2`
`attr` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el8_10`
`attr-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el8_10`
`attr-debugsource` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el8_10`
`libattr` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el8_10`
`libattr-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el8_10`
`libattr-devel` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el8_10`
`attr-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el9_8`
`attr-debugsource` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el9_8`
`libattr-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el9_8`
`libattr-devel` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el9_8`
`attr` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el9_8`
`attr-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el9_8`
`attr-debugsource` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el9_8`
`libattr` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el9_8`
`libattr-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el9_8`
`attr` Red Hat:hummingbird:1	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.hum1`
`libattr` Red Hat:hummingbird:1	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.hum1`
`libattr-devel` Red Hat:hummingbird:1	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.hum1`
`attr` Rocky Linux:10	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el10_2`
`attr` Rocky Linux:8	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el8_10`
`attr` Rocky Linux:9	All versions	`0:2.6.0-1.el9_8`

How do I fix CVE-2026-54371?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.

Is CVE-2026-54371 being exploited?