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

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

- **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:** 11 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** ALSA-2026:56133, ALSA-2026:59380, ALSA-2026:60226, AZL-91400, AZL-91424, CLSA-2026-1785346928, CLSA-2026-1785347213, CLSA-2026-1787146803, CLSA-2026-1787148007, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-54371, ECHO-e81f-866f-9cb6, GHSA-hh95-r7mj-c9j5, OESA-2026-2913, OESA-2026-2914, OESA-2026-2915, OESA-2026-2916, OESA-2026-3080, RHSA-2026:34889, RHSA-2026:56133, RHSA-2026:59380, RHSA-2026:60226, RLSA-2026:56133, RLSA-2026:59380, RLSA-2026:60226, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-54371, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-54371, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-54371, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-54371, USN-8691-1

## 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 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-54371?


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `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.

## Is CVE-2026-54371 being exploited?

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

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-54371 and fix it if it is affected.

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

Affected product: attr. 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-2026-54371/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-54371/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-54371
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54371
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-54371

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-54371/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
