Executive brief
A security flaw was found in certain Red Hat Fuse container images where a critical system file was created with incorrect permissions. This allows an attacker who already has limited access to the container to modify user accounts and grant themselves full administrative (root) control. Such an escalation could allow an attacker to bypass security boundaries within the containerized environment and access sensitive data or disrupt operations.
Technical details
A privilege escalation vulnerability (CWE-276) exists in Red Hat Fuse container images due to the /etc/passwd file being created with group-writable permissions at build time. An attacker with local command execution capabilities within the container can leverage membership in the root group to modify /etc/passwd. By adding a new user entry with UID 0, the attacker can escalate their privileges to full root access within the container environment. This attack requires the attacker to already have high-privileged local access (PR:H) and depends on specific environmental conditions (AC:H).
Affected products
- Red Hat Fuse 7.0.0
Timeline
- 2025-08-26: other: Bug reported to Red Hat Bugzilla
- 2026-03-13: advisory: CVE published by Red Hat and NVD