CVE-2026-92768 in Cockpit
Summary
by MITRE • 09/18/2026
A flaw was found in cockpit-machines. This vulnerability allows a local attacker to expose sensitive Virtual Machine (VM) credentials, including plaintext passwords, by inspecting process command-line arguments during VM creation or installation. The cockpit-machines component passes password values directly on the command line, making them visible to other local users on systems where process arguments are not restricted. Successful exploitation leads to information disclosure, potentially compromising VM access.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/18/2026
The vulnerability identified in cockpit-machines represents a significant security flaw rooted in improper handling of sensitive credentials during virtual machine provisioning and installation processes. This issue is classified under CWE-78 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command or more specifically CWE-156 Incorrectly Specified Warning Source when considering the exposure mechanism, but primarily aligns with CWE-209 Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information due to the leakage of plaintext passwords. The core technical flaw lies in how cockpit-machines constructs and executes system commands for VM creation or installation tasks. Instead of utilizing secure methods such as environment variables, configuration files with restricted permissions, or standard input streams that are not visible via process listing tools like ps or /proc filesystem entries, the component passes password values directly as command-line arguments. In many Linux environments, particularly those where process accounting is disabled or user-level restrictions on viewing other users' processes are lax, any local user can inspect the command line of running processes belonging to other users. This architectural decision creates a direct pathway for information disclosure, allowing an attacker with even basic system access to retrieve plaintext credentials intended only for privileged operations.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability enables a local privilege escalation or lateral movement scenario where an unprivileged user can harvest sensitive authentication material without needing to exploit complex buffer overflows or logic errors in the application code itself. The impact is severe because virtual machine passwords often serve as gateways to entire isolated environments that may contain critical data or services. Once these plaintext credentials are obtained, they can be used immediately by the attacker to authenticate into the compromised VMs, bypassing any additional security controls that might rely on password strength rather than secure transmission and storage practices. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1083 File and Directory Discovery if the attacker uses this information to locate further targets, or more directly T1528 Steal Application Access Token if these credentials are used to access cloud-based VM instances managed through cockpit-machines. The risk is exacerbated in multi-tenant environments where multiple users share a single host system running libvirt and cockpit services, as the blast radius of this information disclosure extends beyond individual user boundaries to potentially compromise organizational infrastructure integrity.
Mitigation strategies must focus on eliminating the exposure vector entirely by changing how credentials are passed to underlying processes. The most effective remediation involves refactoring cockpit-machines to avoid passing passwords via command-line arguments altogether. Instead, developers should implement secure alternatives such as writing temporary credential files with strict file system permissions (e.g., 0600) that are deleted immediately after use, or utilizing environment variables which are generally not visible in standard process listings depending on the operating system configuration and kernel settings. Additionally, implementing mandatory access control policies through SELinux or AppArmor can restrict visibility of command-line arguments for specific services, although this is a defense-in-depth measure rather than a primary fix. Administrators should also ensure that their systems enforce strict limits on /proc/sys/kernel/yama/ptrace_scope if applicable, and regularly audit running processes for any residual exposure until the software patch is applied. Updating to a version of cockpit-machines where this flaw has been resolved is critical, as it ensures that internal mechanisms handle sensitive data securely without leaking it into observable system states.