Bug 2525492 (CVE-2026-80663)

Summary:	CVE-2026-80663 kernel: tools/power/x86/intel-speed-select: Harden daemon pidfile open
Product:	[Other] Security Response	Reporter:	OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component:	vulnerability	Assignee:	Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
Status:	NEW ---	QA Contact:
Severity:	medium	Docs Contact:
Priority:	medium
Version:	unspecified	CC:	rhel-process-autobot, 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 the Linux kernel's Intel Speed Select daemon. A local unprivileged user can exploit a symlink vulnerability in the daemon's pidfile handling. By pre-creating a symbolic link at the fixed pidfile path under /tmp, the attacker can cause the root-run daemon instance to write into an attacker-chosen file. This could lead to arbitrary file write, potentially enabling privilege escalation or denial of service.	Story Points:	---
Clone Of:		Environment:
Last Closed:		Type:	---
Regression:	---	Mount Type:	---
Documentation:	---	CRM:
Verified Versions:		Category:	---
oVirt Team:	---	RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team:	---	Target Upstream Version:
Embargoed:

Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-08-28 07:47:46 UTC

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

tools/power/x86/intel-speed-select: Harden daemon pidfile open

Avoid symlink-based pidfile clobbering by opening the pidfile with
O_NOFOLLOW and validating it with fstat() before locking/writing.

The daemon currently uses a fixed pidfile path under /tmp. A local
unprivileged user can pre-create a symlink at that path and cause a
root-run daemon instance to write into an attacker-chosen file.

Comment 1 gkamathe 2026-08-31 15:58:08 UTC

Upstream advisory:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2026082846-CVE-2026-80663-bdef@gregkh/T