CVE-2026-19079: Policycoreutils: policycoreutils: toctou race condition in fixfiles allows arbitrary selinux label manipulation

Published Aug 7, 2026
·
Updated

A TOCTOU (Time-of-Check-Time-of-Use) race condition vulnerability was found in the fixfiles script in policycoreutils. When running fixfiles relabel or fixfiles restore, the script used find and chcon commands to locate and relabel unlabeled files under /tmp and other directories. A local attacker could exploit a race window between the file discovery and the label change operation by swapping directory components with symlinks, causing chcon to follow the symlink and modify SELinux labels on arbitrary system files. This could undermine SELinux mandatory access control protections on critical files such as /etc/shadow.

Affected Software

1 affected component
SELinux Project policycoreutils

Event History

Aug 7, 2026
CVE Published
via MITRE·07:21 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·07:21 AM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is CVE-2026-19079?

CVE-2026-19079 is a TOCTOU race condition vulnerability in the fixfiles script of policycoreutils that allows arbitrary SELinux label manipulation.

2

What is the severity of CVE-2026-19079?

The severity of CVE-2026-19079 is rated as medium with a score of 4.4.

3

How do I fix CVE-2026-19079?

To fix CVE-2026-19079, apply the latest patches and updates provided by the SELinux Project for policycoreutils.

4

Who is affected by CVE-2026-19079?

Local attackers with access to execute the fixfiles script may exploit CVE-2026-19079 to manipulate SELinux labels.

5

What systems are vulnerable to CVE-2026-19079?

Systems using the SELinux Project's policycoreutils that utilize the fixfiles script are vulnerable to CVE-2026-19079.

Contact

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