# CVE-2026-16527: Red Hat PCP auth bypass in pmproxy /store endpoint

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-16527-red-hat-pcp-auth-bypass-in-pmproxy-store-endpoint  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-07-30. Updated: 2026-07-30  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-16527 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.3 · Published 2026-07-30

A security vulnerability has been identified in Performance Co-Pilot (PCP), a system monitoring toolkit used in Red Hat Enterprise Linux and OpenShift environments. An unauthenticated attacker can send specially crafted network requests to the monitoring proxy service to bypass security controls and modify system metrics. This flaw can be exploited to gain full control over the affected server, potentially leading to data theft, service disruption, or unauthorized access to the broader corporate network.

Technologies: [Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/enterprise-linux-10), [Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/enterprise-linux-7), [Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/enterprise-linux-8), [Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/enterprise-linux-9), [Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/openshift-container-platform-4). Vendors: [Red Hat](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/red-hat).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-16527 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-16527 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-16527?** High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.3, published 30 July 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 affected; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 affected; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 affected; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 affected; and 1 more.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-16527?** No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

**How is CVE-2026-16527 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in an operating system.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-16527?** Check whether you run Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 or one of the others listed at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

A vulnerability exists in the pmproxy REST API of Performance Co-Pilot (PCP) due to an authentication bypass in the /store endpoint. The root cause is 'dead code' where authentication flags (-S and -Q) are present in the source logic but missing from the command-line option parsing strings, making it impossible to enable authentication for this endpoint. An unauthenticated attacker can use a crafted hostspec parameter to force pmproxy to connect to the pmcd daemon via Unix sockets. This bypasses pmcd host-based access rules (which typically only cover IP transports), allowing the attacker to overwrite PMDA metrics. When combined with the linux_sockets PMDA, this can lead to arbitrary code execution and full system takeover.

## Affected products

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 affected
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 affected
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 affected
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 affected
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 affected
- Performance Co-Pilot Performance Co-Pilot (PCP) all versions including pmproxy

## Timeline

- 2026-07-22: other: Reported to Red Hat Bugzilla
- 2026-07-30: disclosed: Public disclosure of CVE-2026-16527

## References

- [https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/](https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/)
- [https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-16527](https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-16527)
- [https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2506031](https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2506031)

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