Kbd: local privilege escalation in openvt via incorrect process owner verification allowing passwordless root login
CVE-2026-72693 is fixed in 5 products on 1 platform, first by DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72693, released August 11, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: High.
`openvt -u` is intended to identify the owner of the current VT and then execute `login` as that user from a privileged context. In the documented `kbrequest`/init usage, the ownership test in `authenticate_user()` relies on `stat("/proc/<pid>/fd/0")`. `stat()` on `/proc/<pid>/fd/0` follows the symlink to the underlying TTY device node. As a result, `buf.st_uid` reflects the owner of the TTY node rather than the owner of the process holding the file descriptor. If the TTY owner returns to `root` or the getty owner after logout while an unprivileged process still has `fd 0` attached to that TTY, the check can incorrectly treat that process as belonging to the privileged console owner. Once that check succeeds, the `-u` path executes a passwordless login as the selected user. In the documented `kbrequest`/init deployment using `openvt -us`, this can result in passwordless `login -f root` on the spawned VT. This report establishes that privilege escalation path for that documented deployment; it does not claim equivalent reachability for deployments that do not use `openvt -u` from a privileged `kbrequest`/init path.
Where it's fixed
| Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | |||
| kbd · Debian 14 | 2.10.0-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72693 | Aug 11, 2026 |
| kbd · Fedora 43 | 2.8.0-4.fc43 | FEDORA-2026-3A1183DF4C | Aug 27, 2026 |
| kbd · RHEL 10 | 2.6.4-8.el10_2 | RHSA-2026:57597 | Aug 21, 2026 |
| kbd · RHEL 8 | 0:2.0.4-11.el8_10.1 | RHSA-2026:78951 | Oct 9, 2026 |
| kbd · RHEL 9 | 0:2.4.0-12.el9_8 | RHSA-2026:57610 | Aug 21, 2026 |
| kbd · almalinux 10 | 2.6.4-8.el10_2 | ALSA-2026:57597 | Aug 20, 2026 |
| kbd · almalinux 8 | 2.0.4-11.el8_10.1 | ALSA-2026:78951 | Oct 8, 2026 |
| kbd · almalinux 9 | 2.4.0-12.el9_8 | ALSA-2026:57610 | Aug 20, 2026 |
| kbd · amzn 2023 | 2.4.0-2.amzn2023.0.4 | ALAS2023-2026-2109 | Aug 31, 2026 |
| kbd · ol 10 | 0:2.6.4-8.el10_2 | ELSA-2026-57597 | Aug 20, 2026 |
| kbd · ol 8 | 0:2.0.4-11.el8_10.1 | ELSA-2026-78951 | Oct 8, 2026 |
| kbd · ol 9 | 0:2.4.0-12.el9_8 | ELSA-2026-57610 | Aug 20, 2026 |
| kbd · opensuse-leap 16.0 | 2.7.1-160000.3.1 | OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21939-1 | Sep 23, 2026 |
| kbd · rocky 10 | 0:2.6.4-8.el10_2 | RLSA-2026:57597 | Aug 21, 2026 |
| kbd · rocky 8 | 0:2.0.4-11.el8_10.1 | RLSA-2026:78951 | Nov 7, 2026 |
| kbd · rocky 9 | 0:2.4.0-12.el9_8 | RLSA-2026:57610 | Aug 21, 2026 |
| kbd · sles 15.6 | 2.4.0-150400.5.12.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:4207-1 | Sep 16, 2026 |
| kbd · sles 15.7 | 2.4.0-150700.15.10.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:4211-1 | Sep 16, 2026 |
| kbd · sles 16.0 | 2.7.1-160000.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23911-1 | Sep 23, 2026 |
| kbd-debuginfo · Fedora 43 | 2.8.0-4.fc43 | FEDORA-2026-3A1183DF4C | Aug 27, 2026 |
| kbd-debuginfo · amzn 2023 | 2.4.0-2.amzn2023.0.4 | ALAS2023-2026-2109 | Aug 31, 2026 |
| kbd-debugsource · Fedora 43 | 2.8.0-4.fc43 | FEDORA-2026-3A1183DF4C | Aug 27, 2026 |
| kbd-debugsource · amzn 2023 | 2.4.0-2.amzn2023.0.4 | ALAS2023-2026-2109 | Aug 31, 2026 |
| kbd-legacy · Fedora 43 | 2.8.0-4.fc43 | FEDORA-2026-3A1183DF4C | Aug 27, 2026 |
| kbd-legacy · RHEL 8 | 0:2.0.4-11.el8_10.1 | RHSA-2026:78951 | Oct 9, 2026 |
| kbd-legacy · RHEL 9 | 0:2.4.0-12.el9_8 | RHSA-2026:57610 | Aug 21, 2026 |
| kbd-legacy · almalinux 10 | 2.6.4-8.el10_2 | ALSA-2026:57597 | Aug 20, 2026 |
| kbd-legacy · almalinux 8 | 2.0.4-11.el8_10.1 | ALSA-2026:78951 | Oct 8, 2026 |
| kbd-legacy · almalinux 9 | 2.4.0-12.el9_8 | ALSA-2026:57610 | Aug 20, 2026 |
| kbd-legacy · amzn 2023 | 2.4.0-2.amzn2023.0.4 | ALAS2023-2026-2109 | Aug 31, 2026 |
| kbd-legacy · ol 10 | 0:2.6.4-8.el10_2 | ELSA-2026-57597 | Aug 20, 2026 |
| kbd-legacy · ol 8 | 0:2.0.4-11.el8_10.1 | ELSA-2026-78951 | Oct 8, 2026 |
| kbd-legacy · ol 9 | 0:2.4.0-12.el9_8 | ELSA-2026-57610 | Aug 20, 2026 |
| kbd-misc · Fedora 43 | 2.8.0-4.fc43 | FEDORA-2026-3A1183DF4C | Aug 27, 2026 |
| kbd-misc · RHEL 8 | 0:2.0.4-11.el8_10.1 | RHSA-2026:78951 | Oct 9, 2026 |
| kbd-misc · RHEL 9 | 0:2.4.0-12.el9_8 | RHSA-2026:57610 | Aug 21, 2026 |
| kbd-misc · almalinux 10 | 2.6.4-8.el10_2 | ALSA-2026:57597 | Aug 20, 2026 |
| kbd-misc · almalinux 8 | 2.0.4-11.el8_10.1 | ALSA-2026:78951 | Oct 8, 2026 |
| kbd-misc · almalinux 9 | 2.4.0-12.el9_8 | ALSA-2026:57610 | Aug 20, 2026 |
| kbd-misc · amzn 2023 | 2.4.0-2.amzn2023.0.4 | ALAS2023-2026-2109 | Aug 31, 2026 |
| kbd-misc · ol 10 | 0:2.6.4-8.el10_2 | ELSA-2026-57597 | Aug 20, 2026 |
| kbd-misc · ol 8 | 0:2.0.4-11.el8_10.1 | ELSA-2026-78951 | Oct 8, 2026 |
| kbd-misc · ol 9 | 0:2.4.0-12.el9_8 | ELSA-2026-57610 | Aug 20, 2026 |
Patch Radar data is free to use with attribution. Terms and how to credit it.
Product names, logos and trademarks shown on Patch Radar belong to their respective owners. They are used only to identify the software each security fix applies to and to help readers find their platform. Their use does not imply any affiliation with, or endorsement by, those owners, and Patchblox is not affiliated with any of them.