Bug 2500889 (CVE-2026-15816)

Summary: CVE-2026-15816 dracut: dracut: root code execution via unescaped error message written to sourced emergency hook script in die()
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security <prodsec-ir-bot>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
Severity: high Docs Contact:
Priority: high    
Version: unspecifiedCC: akhatavk, aos-team-art-private, asdas, dpaolell, jdelft, jupierce, lgarciaa, mbiarnes, ppalepu, ppostler, prdhamdh, rhel-process-autobot, security-response-team, sghai, sidsharm, suppawar, vlaad, watson-tool-maintainers
Target Milestone: ---Keywords: Security
Target Release: ---   
Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
Whiteboard:
Fixed In Version: Doc Type: ---
Doc Text:
A flaw was found in dracut. The die() error-handling function writes its message into a shell script under the initramfs emergency-hook directory without properly shell-quoting it. When the message contains data derived from the DHCP ROOT_PATH option, an attacker on the adjacent network who controls a rogue DHCP server can inject a command-substitution sequence that executes as root the next time dracut sources its emergency hook scripts during standard boot-failure handling.
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oVirt Team: --- RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team: --- Target Upstream Version:
Embargoed:
Bug Depends On: 2512472    
Bug Blocks:    
Deadline: 2026-08-05   

Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-07-15 11:44:07 UTC 
A flaw was found in dracut. The die() function in dracut-lib.sh appends its error message to $hookdir/emergency/01-die.sh using echo "warn dracut: FATAL: \"$*\"", without shell-quoting the message. When the message passed to die() contains DHCP-controlled data -- specifically $netroot, derived from the DHCP ROOT_PATH option via netroot.sh's handler-resolution failure path (die "No handler for netroot type '$netroot'") -- a command-substitution sequence such as $(cmd) embedded in that data survives into the generated 01-die.sh line and executes as root the next time dracut sources the emergency hook directory. This occurs during dracut's standard boot-failure handling: when the netroot handler cannot be resolved, dracut's initqueue-timeout fallback (or, on non-default rd.shell configurations, die() itself) eventually invokes emergency_shell(), which sources every script under $hookdir/emergency/, including the attacker-poisoned 01-die.sh. This is a distinct code path from CVE-2026-6893 (dhclient-script.sh writing unescaped DHCP hostname/route values); CVE-2026-6893's fix does not touch die() and does not remediate this issue. Reproduced directly against die() extracted from shipped dracut RPMs spanning RHEL 6 through RHEL 10 in an isolated sandbox: a crafted netroot value containing $(touch /tmp/marker) created the marker file upon sourcing the generated 01-die.sh, while a clean/benign netroot value round-tripped with identical warning text in every version tested. Replacing the manual echo/quoting with printf '%q' was verified to neutralize the injection while preserving identical warning output for benign input.
Comment 1 errata-xmlrpc 2026-08-13 14:41:50 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

Via RHSA-2026:54575 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:54575
Comment 2 errata-xmlrpc 2026-08-13 14:45:44 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

Via RHSA-2026:54571 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:54571
Comment 3 errata-xmlrpc 2026-08-13 15:28:13 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

Via RHSA-2026:54576 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:54576
Comment 7 errata-xmlrpc 2026-08-20 16:08:06 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support

Via RHSA-2026:57580 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:57580
Comment 8 errata-xmlrpc 2026-08-20 20:39:47 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Update Services for SAP Solutions

Via RHSA-2026:57775 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:57775
Comment 9 errata-xmlrpc 2026-08-20 20:58:46 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 Update Services for SAP Solutions

Via RHSA-2026:57785 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:57785
Comment 10 errata-xmlrpc 2026-08-20 21:33:53 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.6 Extended Update Support

Via RHSA-2026:57772 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:57772
Comment 11 errata-xmlrpc 2026-08-31 03:27:04 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Update Services for SAP Solutions
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Telecommunications Update Service

Via RHSA-2026:61252 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:61252
Comment 12 errata-xmlrpc 2026-09-01 19:46:48 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Extended Lifecycle Support

Via RHSA-2026:62269 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:62269
Comment 13 errata-xmlrpc 2026-09-01 21:38:43 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.22

Via RHSA-2026:60440 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:60440
Comment 14 errata-xmlrpc 2026-09-01 21:45:59 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.20

Via RHSA-2026:60445 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:60445
Comment 15 errata-xmlrpc 2026-09-08 14:02:37 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.21

Via RHSA-2026:63041 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:63041
Comment 16 errata-xmlrpc 2026-09-09 09:23:03 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.19

Via RHSA-2026:63044 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:63044
Comment 17 errata-xmlrpc 2026-09-10 08:50:55 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.16

Via RHSA-2026:62549 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:62549
Comment 18 Jon Orris 2026-09-14 13:30:40 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.14

Via RHSA-2026:62409 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:62409
Comment 19 Jon Orris 2026-09-15 09:19:21 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.22

Via RHSA-2026:66357 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:66357
Comment 20 Jon Orris 2026-09-17 07:56:41 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.18

Via RHSA-2026:65851 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:65851
Comment 21 Jon Orris 2026-09-17 17:11:34 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.13

Via RHSA-2026:65839 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:65839
Comment 22 Jon Orris 2026-09-21 02:40:37 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On

Via RHSA-2026:69118 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:69118
Comment 23 Jon Orris 2026-09-21 02:47:37 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On

Via RHSA-2026:69119 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:69119
Comment 24 Jon Orris 2026-09-28 01:40:44 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.15

Via RHSA-2026:67857 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:67857
Comment 25 Jon Orris 2026-10-01 12:28:57 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.17

Via RHSA-2026:70586 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:70586
Comment 26 Jon Orris 2026-10-01 14:18:24 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Extended Lifecycle Support  - EXTENSION

Via RHSA-2026:74499 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:74499
Comment 27 Jon Orris 2026-10-01 15:25:17 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.18

Via RHSA-2026:70615 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:70615
Comment 30 Jon Orris 2026-10-08 10:44:57 UTC 
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Extended Lifecycle Support  - EXTENSION

Via RHSA-2026:79114 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:79114