CVE-2026-91838 (GCVE-0-2026-91838)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-09-25 17:51 – Updated: 2026-09-25 18:16
VLAI
Title
Networkmanager-sstp: networkmanager-sstp: local privilege escalation to root via shell injection in vpn profile fields
Summary
A flaw was found in NetworkManager-sstp, the SSTP VPN plugin for NetworkManager. A local unprivileged user can exploit this vulnerability by embedding special characters, known as shell metacharacters, into VPN connection profile fields such as CA certificate or proxy settings. These unescaped characters are then processed by the `pppd` daemon, which runs with root privileges, allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary commands with elevated permissions when a malicious VPN connection is activated.
Severity
7.8 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
SSVC
Exploitation: none Automatable: no Technical Impact: total
CISA Coordinator · CISA-ADP (v2.0.3)
Decision recorded 2026-09-25 18:16 UTC
CWE
  • CWE-78 - Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
Assigner
References
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version CPE status
GNOME NetworkManager-sstp Affected: 0 , < * (semver)
guessed Create a notification for this product.
Date Public
2026-09-15 09:39
Credits
Red Hat would like to thank Andreas Gabriel Berbescu for reporting this issue.
Show details on NVD website
To clipboard 

{
  "containers": {
    "adp": [
      {
        "metrics": [
          {
            "other": {
              "content": {
                "id": "CVE-2026-91838",
                "options": [
                  {
                    "Exploitation": "none"
                  },
                  {
                    "Automatable": "no"
                  },
                  {
                    "Technical Impact": "total"
                  }
                ],
                "role": "CISA Coordinator",
                "timestamp": "2026-09-25T18:16:05.405073Z",
                "version": "2.0.3"
              },
              "type": "ssvc"
            }
          }
        ],
        "providerMetadata": {
          "dateUpdated": "2026-09-25T18:16:17.928Z",
          "orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
          "shortName": "CISA-ADP"
        },
        "references": [
          {
            "tags": [
              "exploit"
            ],
            "url": "https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/network-manager-sstp/-/work_items/67"
          }
        ],
        "title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment"
      }
    ],
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "collectionURL": "https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/network-manager-sstp",
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "packageName": "network-manager-sstp",
          "product": "NetworkManager-sstp",
          "vendor": "GNOME",
          "versions": [
            {
              "lessThan": "*",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "0",
              "versionType": "semver"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "credits": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "Red Hat would like to thank Andreas Gabriel Berbescu for reporting this issue."
        }
      ],
      "datePublic": "2026-09-15T09:39:06.004Z",
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "A flaw was found in NetworkManager-sstp, the SSTP VPN plugin for NetworkManager. A local unprivileged user can exploit this vulnerability by embedding special characters, known as shell metacharacters, into VPN connection profile fields such as CA certificate or proxy settings. These unescaped characters are then processed by the `pppd` daemon, which runs with root privileges, allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary commands with elevated permissions when a malicious VPN connection is activated."
        }
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "other": {
            "content": {
              "namespace": "https://access.redhat.com/security/updates/classification/",
              "value": "Important"
            },
            "type": "Red Hat severity rating"
          }
        },
        {
          "cvssV3_1": {
            "attackComplexity": "LOW",
            "attackVector": "LOCAL",
            "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
            "baseScore": 7.8,
            "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
            "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
            "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
            "privilegesRequired": "LOW",
            "scope": "UNCHANGED",
            "userInteraction": "NONE",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
            "version": "3.1"
          },
          "format": "CVSS"
        }
      ],
      "problemTypes": [
        {
          "descriptions": [
            {
              "cweId": "CWE-78",
              "description": "Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command (\u0027OS Command Injection\u0027)",
              "lang": "en",
              "type": "CWE"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-09-25T17:51:44.357Z",
        "orgId": "92fb86c3-55a5-4fb5-9c3f-4757b9e96dc5",
        "shortName": "fedora"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "tags": [
            "vdb-entry",
            "x_refsource_REDHAT"
          ],
          "url": "https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-91838"
        },
        {
          "name": "RHBZ#2533637",
          "tags": [
            "issue-tracking",
            "x_refsource_REDHAT"
          ],
          "url": "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2533637"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/network-manager-sstp/-/work_items/67"
        }
      ],
      "timeline": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "time": "2026-09-15T09:39:06.004Z",
          "value": "Reported to Red Hat."
        },
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "time": "2026-09-15T09:39:06.004Z",
          "value": "Made public."
        }
      ],
      "title": "Networkmanager-sstp: networkmanager-sstp: local privilege escalation to root via shell injection in vpn profile fields",
      "workarounds": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "The vulnerability requires a local unprivileged user to activate a malicious VPN connection. If the NetworkManager-sstp package is not required, removing it will eliminate the attack vector.\n\nTo remove the `NetworkManager-sstp` package:\n`sudo dnf remove NetworkManager-sstp`\n\nThis action may impact functionality that relies on SSTP VPN connections."
        }
      ],
      "x_generator": {
        "engine": "cvelib 1.8.0"
      },
      "x_redhatCweChain": "CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command (\u0027OS Command Injection\u0027)"
    }
  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "92fb86c3-55a5-4fb5-9c3f-4757b9e96dc5",
    "assignerShortName": "fedora",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-91838",
    "datePublished": "2026-09-25T17:51:44.357Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-09-15T08:28:01.333Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-09-25T18:16:17.928Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2",
  "vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
    "nvd": {
      "cve": {
        "affected": [
          {
            "affectedData": [
              {
                "collectionURL": "https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/network-manager-sstp",
                "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
                "packageName": "network-manager-sstp",
                "product": "NetworkManager-sstp",
                "vendor": "GNOME",
                "versions": [
                  {
                    "lessThan": "*",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "0",
                    "versionType": "semver"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ],
            "source": "patrick@puiterwijk.org"
          }
        ],
        "cveTags": [],
        "descriptions": [
          {
            "lang": "en",
            "value": "A flaw was found in NetworkManager-sstp, the SSTP VPN plugin for NetworkManager. A local unprivileged user can exploit this vulnerability by embedding special characters, known as shell metacharacters, into VPN connection profile fields such as CA certificate or proxy settings. These unescaped characters are then processed by the `pppd` daemon, which runs with root privileges, allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary commands with elevated permissions when a malicious VPN connection is activated."
          }
        ],
        "id": "CVE-2026-91838",
        "lastModified": "2026-09-25T19:17:58.647",
        "metrics": {
          "cvssMetricV31": [
            {
              "cvssData": {
                "attackComplexity": "LOW",
                "attackVector": "LOCAL",
                "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
                "baseScore": 7.8,
                "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
                "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
                "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
                "privilegesRequired": "LOW",
                "scope": "UNCHANGED",
                "userInteraction": "NONE",
                "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
                "version": "3.1"
              },
              "exploitabilityScore": 1.8,
              "impactScore": 5.9,
              "source": "patrick@puiterwijk.org",
              "type": "Secondary"
            }
          ],
          "ssvcV203": [
            {
              "source": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
              "ssvcData": {
                "id": "CVE-2026-91838",
                "options": [
                  {
                    "exploitation": "none"
                  },
                  {
                    "automatable": "no"
                  },
                  {
                    "technicalImpact": "total"
                  }
                ],
                "role": "CISA Coordinator",
                "timestamp": "2026-09-25T18:16:05.405073Z",
                "version": "2.0.3"
              }
            }
          ]
        },
        "published": "2026-09-25T18:17:32.530",
        "references": [
          {
            "source": "patrick@puiterwijk.org",
            "url": "https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-91838"
          },
          {
            "source": "patrick@puiterwijk.org",
            "url": "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2533637"
          },
          {
            "source": "patrick@puiterwijk.org",
            "url": "https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/network-manager-sstp/-/work_items/67"
          },
          {
            "source": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
            "url": "https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/network-manager-sstp/-/work_items/67"
          }
        ],
        "sourceIdentifier": "patrick@puiterwijk.org",
        "vulnStatus": "Received",
        "weaknesses": [
          {
            "description": [
              {
                "lang": "en",
                "value": "CWE-78"
              }
            ],
            "source": "patrick@puiterwijk.org",
            "type": "Secondary"
          }
        ]
      }
    },
    "redhat_vex": {
      "current_release_date": "2026-09-25T15:40:15+00:00",
      "cve": "CVE-2026-91838",
      "id": "CVE-2026-91838",
      "initial_release_date": "2026-09-15T09:39:06.004000+00:00",
      "product_status:known_not_affected": "1",
      "source": "Red Hat CSAF VEX",
      "status": "final",
      "title": "NetworkManager-sstp: NetworkManager-sstp: local privilege escalation to root via shell injection in VPN profile fields",
      "url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-91838.json",
      "version": "3"
    },
    "vulnrichment": {
      "containers": {
        "adp": [
          {
            "metrics": [
              {
                "other": {
                  "content": {
                    "id": "CVE-2026-91838",
                    "options": [
                      {
                        "Exploitation": "none"
                      },
                      {
                        "Automatable": "no"
                      },
                      {
                        "Technical Impact": "total"
                      }
                    ],
                    "role": "CISA Coordinator",
                    "timestamp": "2026-09-25T18:16:05.405073Z",
                    "version": "2.0.3"
                  },
                  "type": "ssvc"
                }
              }
            ],
            "providerMetadata": {
              "dateUpdated": "2026-09-25T18:16:13.869Z",
              "orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
              "shortName": "CISA-ADP"
            },
            "references": [
              {
                "tags": [
                  "exploit"
                ],
                "url": "https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/network-manager-sstp/-/work_items/67"
              }
            ],
            "title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment"
          }
        ],
        "cna": {
          "affected": [
            {
              "collectionURL": "https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/network-manager-sstp",
              "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
              "packageName": "network-manager-sstp",
              "product": "NetworkManager-sstp",
              "vendor": "GNOME",
              "versions": [
                {
                  "lessThan": "*",
                  "status": "affected",
                  "version": "0",
                  "versionType": "semver"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "credits": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "Red Hat would like to thank Andreas Gabriel Berbescu for reporting this issue."
            }
          ],
          "datePublic": "2026-09-15T09:39:06.004Z",
          "descriptions": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "A flaw was found in NetworkManager-sstp, the SSTP VPN plugin for NetworkManager. A local unprivileged user can exploit this vulnerability by embedding special characters, known as shell metacharacters, into VPN connection profile fields such as CA certificate or proxy settings. These unescaped characters are then processed by the `pppd` daemon, which runs with root privileges, allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary commands with elevated permissions when a malicious VPN connection is activated."
            }
          ],
          "metrics": [
            {
              "other": {
                "content": {
                  "namespace": "https://access.redhat.com/security/updates/classification/",
                  "value": "Important"
                },
                "type": "Red Hat severity rating"
              }
            },
            {
              "cvssV3_1": {
                "attackComplexity": "LOW",
                "attackVector": "LOCAL",
                "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
                "baseScore": 7.8,
                "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
                "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
                "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
                "privilegesRequired": "LOW",
                "scope": "UNCHANGED",
                "userInteraction": "NONE",
                "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
                "version": "3.1"
              },
              "format": "CVSS"
            }
          ],
          "problemTypes": [
            {
              "descriptions": [
                {
                  "cweId": "CWE-78",
                  "description": "Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command (\u0027OS Command Injection\u0027)",
                  "lang": "en",
                  "type": "CWE"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "providerMetadata": {
            "dateUpdated": "2026-09-25T17:51:44.357Z",
            "orgId": "92fb86c3-55a5-4fb5-9c3f-4757b9e96dc5",
            "shortName": "fedora"
          },
          "references": [
            {
              "tags": [
                "vdb-entry",
                "x_refsource_REDHAT"
              ],
              "url": "https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-91838"
            },
            {
              "name": "RHBZ#2533637",
              "tags": [
                "issue-tracking",
                "x_refsource_REDHAT"
              ],
              "url": "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2533637"
            },
            {
              "url": "https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/network-manager-sstp/-/work_items/67"
            }
          ],
          "timeline": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "time": "2026-09-15T09:39:06.004Z",
              "value": "Reported to Red Hat."
            },
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "time": "2026-09-15T09:39:06.004Z",
              "value": "Made public."
            }
          ],
          "title": "Networkmanager-sstp: networkmanager-sstp: local privilege escalation to root via shell injection in vpn profile fields",
          "workarounds": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "The vulnerability requires a local unprivileged user to activate a malicious VPN connection. If the NetworkManager-sstp package is not required, removing it will eliminate the attack vector.\n\nTo remove the `NetworkManager-sstp` package:\n`sudo dnf remove NetworkManager-sstp`\n\nThis action may impact functionality that relies on SSTP VPN connections."
            }
          ],
          "x_generator": {
            "engine": "cvelib 1.8.0"
          },
          "x_redhatCweChain": "CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command (\u0027OS Command Injection\u0027)"
        }
      },
      "cveMetadata": {
        "assignerOrgId": "92fb86c3-55a5-4fb5-9c3f-4757b9e96dc5",
        "assignerShortName": "fedora",
        "cveId": "CVE-2026-91838",
        "datePublished": "2026-09-25T17:51:44.357Z",
        "dateReserved": "2026-09-15T08:28:01.333Z",
        "dateUpdated": "2026-09-25T18:16:17.928Z",
        "state": "PUBLISHED"
      },
      "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
      "dataVersion": "5.2"
    }
  }
}



Log in or create an account to share your comment.




Tags
Taxonomy of the tags.





Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.

Sightings

Author Source Type Date Other

Nomenclature

  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
  • Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
  • Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
  • Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.



Related by attack behaviour

Vulnerabilities whose description is nearest to this one in the vector space of the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-biencoder model. This is a similarity search over the bi-encoder space (plain cosine), not a classification, and it has no measured accuracy.