CVE-2026-16445

Summary

A flaw was found in dracut. A remote attacker on the adjacent network can exploit this vulnerability by providing specially crafted DHCP options, such as a malicious root-path, next-server, or bootfile name, to a system using dracut's NetworkManager-based initrd network module. These options are improperly handled and written into a temporary shell script without proper escaping, leading to command injection. This allows the attacker to achieve root code execution within the initramfs during system boot.

Affected Software

VendorProductVersion RangeStatus
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 80:049-244.git20260529.el8_10 < *unaffected
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Telecommunications Update Service0:049-223.git20230119.el8_8.1 < *unaffected
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Update Services for SAP Solutions0:049-223.git20230119.el8_8.1 < *unaffected
Red HatRed Hat Hardened Images109-7.hum1 < *unaffected

Weaknesses

  • CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')

Workarounds

Avoid using the root=dhcp/netroot=dhcp/root=dhcp6/netroot=dhcp6 kernel command-line options — these cause dracut to trust the DHCP server's root-path option to determine the boot target. Configuring the netroot target explicitly on the kernel/PXE command line instead (e.g. netroot=nfs:<server>:<path> or netroot=iscsi:… with a literal value).

ADP Enrichment

CISA ADP Vulnrichment

  • SSVC:
  • Exploitation: none
    • Automatable: no
    • Technical Impact: total

References