# CVE-2026-25710: KDE plasma-login-manager privilege escalation in plasmaloginauthhelper

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-25710-kde-plasma-login-manager-privilege-escalation-in  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-05-13. Updated: 2026-05-14  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-25710 · Severity: info · CVSS 7 · Published 2026-05-13

A security vulnerability exists in the KDE Plasma login manager, a component responsible for managing the login screen and user sessions. A privileged helper tool within this component fails to properly restrict its actions, allowing a compromised service account to gain full control over the system. This could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive files, system-wide data deletion, or a complete takeover of the computer by a local attacker.

Vendors: [Kde](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/kde).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-25710 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-25710 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-25710?** Informational severity, with a CVSS score of 7, published 13 May 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** KDE plasma-login-manager 6.6.2.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-25710?** A patch was published on 2026-05-12: Planned upstream security release. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-25710 attacked?** It is attacked with local access, in an operating system.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-25710?** Check whether you run Kde Plasma Login Manager. 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

The 'plasmaloginauthhelper' D-Bus service in KDE's plasma-login-manager (specifically version 6.6.2) runs with root privileges but performs file operations within the '/var/lib/plasmalogin' directory without dropping privileges to the service user. This leads to multiple vulnerabilities: the 'sync()' method performs insecure chown() calls vulnerable to symlink attacks; the 'reset()' method uses 'QDir::removeRecursively()', which follows symlinks to delete arbitrary system directories; and the 'save()' method is vulnerable to a race condition during directory creation. While these actions typically require 'auth_admin' Polkit authentication, the lack of privilege separation allows a compromised 'plasmalogin' service account to escalate to full root access. A fix was scheduled for the May 12, 2026, Plasma release.

## Affected products

- KDE plasma-login-manager 6.6.2

## Timeline

- 2026-03-27: disclosed: Initial discovery and internal reporting at SUSE.
- 2026-04-27: advisory: Public advisory released by SUSE security team.
- 2026-05-12: patched: Planned upstream security release.
- 2026-05-13: other: CVE published to NVD.

## References

- [https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2026-25710](https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2026-25710)
- [https://security.opensuse.org/2026/04/27/plasma-login-manager.html](https://security.opensuse.org/2026/04/27/plasma-login-manager.html)
- [http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/04/27/1](http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/04/27/1)