Red Hat Enterprise Linux NetworkManager command injection

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as very critical has been reported in Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Hardened Images and OpenShift Container Platform. This vulnerability affects unknown code of the component NetworkManager. The manipulation leads to command injection. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-16445. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. No exploit exists.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Hardened Images and OpenShift Container Platform (the affected version is unknown) and classified as very critical. This issue affects an unknown code of the component NetworkManager. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a command injection vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-77. The product constructs all or part of a command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended command when it is sent to a downstream component. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

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.

It is possible to read the advisory at access.redhat.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-16445 since 07/21/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 07/21/2026). The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1202 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Red Hat

Name

• Enterprise Linux
• Hardened Images
• OpenShift Container Platform

License

• commercial

Website

• Vendor: https://www.redhat.com/

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