Bug 2503147 (CVE-2026-16445) - CVE-2026-16445 dracut: dracut: Root code execution via DHCP options command injection in NetworkManager initrd module
Summary: CVE-2026-16445 dracut: dracut: Root code execution via DHCP options command i...
Keywords:
Status: NEW
Alias: CVE-2026-16445
Product: Security Response
Classification: Other
Component: vulnerability
Version: unspecified
Hardware: All
OS: Linux
high
high
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Product Security
QA Contact:
URL:
Whiteboard:
Depends On:
Blocks:
TreeView+ depends on / blocked
 
Reported: 2026-07-21 08:26 UTC by OSIDB Bzimport
Modified: 2026-07-21 12:49 UTC (History)
2 users (show)

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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-07-21 08:26:14 UTC
A flaw was found in dracut. The NetworkManager-based initrd network module (modules.d/35network-manager/nm-run.sh) reads DHCP lease values (root-path, next-server, dhcp-bootfile) from a NetworkManager device state file and writes them into a temporary file (/tmp/dhclient.<ifname>.dhcpopts) without escaping shell metacharacters. This file is later sourced as shell code during network-root boot handling (for example, NFS-root configurations). A DHCP server reachable on the same network segment as a booting host can supply a root-path, next-server, or dhcp-bootfile option value containing shell metacharacters, which are copied verbatim into the sourced file and executed as root in the initramfs when the file is sourced. Exploitation requires an initramfs built with dracut's network-manager module, configured to boot with a DHCP-derived netroot. This is a distinct code path from CVE-2026-6893, which affects dracut's network-legacy module (dhclient-script.sh). The fix escapes DHCP-derived values using shell-safe quoting before writing them to the generated file, consistent with the approach already used in later dracut versions.


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