CVE-2026-44604 — Rpm: command injection in rpmuncompress dountar() via unescaped archive top-level directory name in popen() shell command
A command injection vulnerability was discovered in the `rpmuncompress` utility of RPM. When extracting certain archive formats (ZIP, 7z, GEM) to a specified destination directory, the tool inserts the archive's top-level folder name into a shell command without properly sanitizing it. A specially crafted archive containing shell metacharacters in its folder name can execute arbitrary commands as the user running the extraction.
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
- EPSS 0.9% (30-day exploitation probability)+9
- 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.
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 (Red Hat Hardened Images).
- No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
- Exploitation requires user interaction: tighten email/web filtering and warn affected users.
- Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (injection), errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat | Hardened Images | versions not specified by the source | Vulnerable | CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.0 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 1.0 | 5.9 | secalert@redhat.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 7.0 | CVSS 3.1 | High | — | — | redhat via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: secalert@redhat.com) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
EPSS over time FIRST
Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.92%
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.
- Look for parameters with command/query metacharacters and unexpected child processes of the service.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · red hat/red hat hardened images
- SSVC assessment updated
- Record published
- CVSS changed · 7.0
- Source status changed · → Awaiting Analysis
- Record created in this database
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
References
3 on the record
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- Medium CVE-2026-110924 Openssh: openssh: gssapi delegated credentials can be stored after a failed authentication 7h
- Medium CVE-2026-110927 Openssh: openssh: a compressed payload can expand past the maximum packet size 7h
- Medium CVE-2026-110926 Openssh: openssh: shared lz77 compression dictionary leaks plaintext across channels 15h
- Medium CVE-2026-110925 Openssh: openssh: '$' and '\' in a command-line username expand through %u 15h
- Medium CVE-2026-110923 Openssh: openssh: sftp can write outside the destination directory from a server-supplied path 15h
- Low CVE-2026-88842 Busybox: busybox: dpkg stale field_start pointer causes out-of-bounds read and status file corruption 1d
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-2026-44604 is "Rpm: command injection in rpmuncompress dountar() via unescaped archive top-level directory name in popen() shell command", rated High. It affects Hardened Images (Red Hat); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 7.0 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.92% 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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