CVE-2026-72693 - Kbd: local privilege escalation in openvt via incorrect process owner verification allowing passwordless root login

CVE-2026-72693 - Kbd: local privilege escalation in openvt via incorrect process owner verification allowing passwordless root login

https://cvefeed.io/rssfeed/latest.atom / Tue, 08/11/2026 - 13:25
CVE ID :CVE-2026-72693
Published : Aug. 11, 2026, 8:39 a.m. | 48 minutes ago
Description :`openvt -u` is intended to identify the owner of the current VT and then execute `login` as that user from a privileged context. In the documented `kbrequest`/init usage, the ownership test in `authenticate_user()` relies on `stat("/proc//fd/0")`. `stat()` on `/proc//fd/0` follows the symlink to the underlying TTY device node. As a result, `buf.st_uid` reflects the owner of the TTY node rather than the owner of the process holding the file descriptor. If the TTY owner returns to `root` or the getty owner after logout while an unprivileged process still has `fd 0` attached to that TTY, the check can incorrectly treat that process as belonging to the privileged console owner. Once that check succeeds, the `-u` path executes a passwordless login as the selected user. In the documented `kbrequest`/init deployment using `openvt -us`, this can result in passwordless `login -f root` on the spawned VT. This report establishes that privilege escalation path for that documented deployment; it does not claim equivalent reachability for deployments that do not use `openvt -u` from a privileged `kbrequest`/init path.
Severity: 7.8 | HIGH
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