CVE-2026-53614

7.0High

Published 14 Oct 2026 · NVD status: Awaiting Analysis · AI triage by gemini-3.8-flash

7.0High

Attack vector: Local
Complexity: High
Privileges needed: Low
User interaction: None
Impact: Full C/I/A compromise
Weakness: CWE-269, CWE-807

Impact

Local users can gain root privileges by racing non-atomic bind mounts. An attacker needs local shell access and an /etc/fstab bind mount entry permitting user mounts with flags like nosuid or noexec.

Root cause

The SUID mount binary insecurely reads the user-controlled LIBMOUNT_FORCE_MOUNT2 environment variable via getenv(), forcing a non-atomic fallback that leaves a window where security flags are not yet applied.

Affected systems

util-linux 2.39.1 through 2.41.4, and 2.42 through 2.42.1

CVSS v3.1 · CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Fix & remediation

Upgrade util-linux to version 2.41.5, 2.42.2, or later. If patching immediately is not possible, audit /etc/fstab and remove user/users mount options from bind mounts, or remove the SUID bit from the mount binary.

shell

$ sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade util-linux mount

AI-suggested. Run it in staging first and check it against the vendor advisory. Why?

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NVD description

util-linux is a random collection of Linux utilities. In util-linux 2.39.1 through 2.41.4 and 2.42 through 2.42.1, the SUID `mount` utility reads the attacker-controlled `LIBMOUNT_FORCE_MOUNT2` environment variable with `getenv()`, allowing a local low-privileged user to force the non-atomic legacy bind-mount path. With an `/etc/fstab` bind mount authorized by `user` or `users` and protected by `nosuid`, `noexec`, or `nodev`, an attacker can race the window between the initial bind mount and the remount that applies those security flags and execute a SUID program from the temporarily unprotected mount, potentially gaining root privileges. This issue is fixed in 2.41.5 and 2.42.2.

References

Source: nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53614