CVE-2026-102490 — Zammad GmbH Zammad Improper Privilege Management Vulnerability
Zammad packages built with packager.io (DEB and RPM) could have allowed a local attacker who already had file system write privileges as the unprivileged zammad service account to escalate to full root privileges on the host. Service processes began running as root and executed files that were owned and writable by the zammad account before dropping their identity to that account. An attacker holding that foothold could have escalated within seconds, because the affected services were restarted automatically whenever they stopped; no administrator interaction was required. Only installations from the DEB and RPM packages were affected — installations from source or the official container images were not. All released packaged versions were affected.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- Confirmed exploitation (CISA KEV)+35
- EPSS 0.6% (30-day exploitation probability)+7
- Technical severity (high)+6
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
CISA SSVC assessment CISA
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.
CISA required action CISA
Apply mitigations in accordance with vendor instructions, ensuring compliance with CISA’s BOD 26-04 Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk (see URL in Notes) guidance and CISA’s “Forensics Triage Requirements” (see URL in Notes). Follow applicable BOD 26-04 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset's internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines.
US federal deadline: Oct 5, 2026 — passed 10 day(s) ago
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Zammad Zammad).
- Treat as emergency remediation: the CVE is in CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
- No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
- Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (privilege escalation), errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.4 | CVSS 4.0 | Critical | — | — | csirt@divd.nl via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 9.4 | CVSS 4.0 | Critical | — | — | DIVD via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| 8.5 | CVSS 4.0 | High | — | — | DIVD via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| 9.8 | CVSS 3.1 | Critical | — | — | GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories |
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 1.8 | 5.9 | nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
CISA KEV details CISA
CISA lists a CVE once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.
CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a reference date.
EPSS over time FIRST
Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.55%
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
- Hunt retroactively in logs from before Oct 2, 2026 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · zammad gmbh/zammad
- SSVC assessment updated
- Record published
- Affected products added · zammad/zammad
- CVSS changed · 7.8
- Source status changed · → Analyzed
- Added to CISA KEV (detected)
- Record created in this database
- Added to CISA KEV catalog
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 2× References added · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
References
8 on the record
- zammad.com/en/advisories/cve-2026-102489-cve-2026-102490
- github.com/zammad/zammad/security/advisories/GHSA-p97w-927q-8vxq
- www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
- github.com/advisories/GHSA-hgff-g8g3-4xr8
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-102490
- csirt.divd.nl/DIVD-2026-00015
- community.zammad.org/t/take-care-local-privilege-escalation-cve-2026-102490-is-reported-as
- csirt.divd.nl/CVE-2026-102490
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- Critical CVE-2026-102489 Zammad GmbH Zammad Session Fixation Vulnerability KEV 15d
- Medium CVE-2026-34837 Zammad is miissing authorization in AI assistance controller for context data used in text tools Apr 8, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-34719 Zammad has a Server-side request forgery (SSRF) via webhooks Apr 8, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-34720 Zammad has an origin validation error in SSO mechanism Apr 8, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-34721 Zammad has Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) in OAuth callback endpoints Apr 8, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-34722 Zammad is missing authorization in ticket create endpoint Apr 8, 2026
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2026-102490 is "Zammad GmbH Zammad Improper Privilege Management Vulnerability", rated High. It affects Zammad (Zammad); versions are in the scope table. It is in CISA KEV: there is evidence of real-world exploitation. CVSS 7.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.55% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
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