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.

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Fixes

Solution

No solution given by the vendor.


Workaround

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).

History

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 19:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Wed, 22 Jul 2026 15:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

threat_severity

Important


Tue, 21 Jul 2026 13:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description 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.
Title Dracut: dracut: root code execution via dhcp options command injection in networkmanager initrd module
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat hummingbird
Redhat openshift
Weaknesses CWE-78
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:hummingbird:1
cpe:/a:redhat:openshift:4
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9
Vendors & Products Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat hummingbird
Redhat openshift
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}


Projects

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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: redhat

Published:

Updated: 2026-08-18T13:50:52.340Z

Reserved: 2026-07-21T08:23:53.560Z

Link: CVE-2026-16445

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-07-22T17:51:09.630Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Awaiting Analysis

Published: 2026-07-21T13:17:16.730

Modified: 2026-07-22T19:16:57.380

Link: CVE-2026-16445

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Important

Publid Date: 2026-07-21T00:00:00Z

Links: CVE-2026-16445 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-08-24T16:30:07Z

Weaknesses