OpenPrinting CUPS up to 2.4.19 Scheduler scheduler/ipp.c copy_model symlink

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in OpenPrinting CUPS up to 2.4.19. This issue affects the function copy_model of the file scheduler/ipp.c of the component Scheduler. The manipulation leads to symlink. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2026-55480. The attack must be carried out locally. There is no available exploit. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in OpenPrinting CUPS up to 2.4.19. This issue affects the function copy_model of the file scheduler/ipp.c of the component Scheduler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a symlink vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-61. The product, when opening a file or directory, does not sufficiently account for when the file is a symbolic link that resolves to a target outside of the intended control sphere. This could allow an attacker to cause the product to operate on unauthorized files. Impacted is integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

OpenPrinting CUPS is an open source printing system for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. Prior to 2.4.20, copy_model() in scheduler/ipp.c creates a predictable TempDir/<connection-number>.ppd path in an lp-group-writable directory and opens it as root without O_EXCL or O_NOFOLLOW. Exploitation requires an lp-group process able to write that directory to predict the connection-derived name and plant a symlink before the root open, while a privileged add-printer or modify-printer operation using a model PPD triggers copy_model(). The reporter treats an existing lp foothold and the privileged operation as distinct prerequisites, while the maintainer assesses high privileges because installing the relevant filter or administering the printer requires root or print-administrator access. If the race succeeds, the root scheduler follows the symlink and truncates or overwrites a root-writable target with generated PPD data, compromising file integrity or availability. This issue is fixed in version 2.4.20.

It is possible to read the advisory at github.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-55480 since 06/17/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. Attacking locally is a requirement. Additional levels of successful authentication are necessary for exploitation. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit.

Upgrading to version 2.4.20 eliminates this vulnerability.

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Productinfo

Type

• Printing Software

Vendor

• OpenPrinting

Name

• CUPS

Version

• 2.4.0
• 2.4.1
• 2.4.2
• 2.4.3
• 2.4.4
• 2.4.5
• 2.4.6
• 2.4.7
• 2.4.8
• 2.4.9
• 2.4.10
• 2.4.11
• 2.4.12
• 2.4.13
• 2.4.14
• 2.4.15
• 2.4.16
• 2.4.17
• 2.4.18
• 2.4.19

Website

• Product: https://github.com/OpenPrinting/cups/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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