Medium Privilege escalation

CVE-2026-45254 — Incorrect libcap_net limitation list manipulation

In the case of the cap_net service, when a key present in the old limit was omitted from the new limit, the missing key was treated as "allow any" instead of being rejected. In certain scenarios, an application that had previously restricted a subset of network operations could ask for a new limit that extended the permissions of the process.

Published May 21, 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: freebsd

Low

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.

How the score was calculated

EPSS 0.3% (30-day exploitation probability)+3
Technical severity (medium)+3
Automatable exploitation (SSVC)+3

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.

Exploitation

Not confirmed

Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.

EPSS FIRST

0.29%

ahead of 20% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026

Affects

Freebsd

CVSS base

6.5

Medium · 2 source(s)

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.

Exploitation

None

none · proof-of-concept · active

Automatable

Yes

can an attacker script the kill-chain steps

Technical impact

Partial

partial · total control of the vulnerable component

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 (Freebsd Freebsd).
The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
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.

Vendor	Product	Versions	Status	Source
Freebsd	Freebsd	version 14.4-p2version 15.0-p8version 15.0-p7version 15.0-p6version 15.0-p5version 15.0-p4version 15.0-p3version 15.0-p2 and 21 more version 15.0-p1version 15.0version 14.4-rc1version 14.4-p4version 14.4-p3version 14.3version 14.4-p1version 14.4version 14.3-p9version 14.3-p8version 14.3-p7version 14.3-p6version 14.3-p5version 14.3-p4version 14.3-p3version 14.3-p2version 14.3-p13version 14.3-p12version 14.3-p11version 14.3-p10version 14.3-p1	Vulnerable	NIST National Vulnerability Database
Freebsd	Freebsd	≥ 14.3-RELEASE and < p14≥ 14.4-RELEASE and < p5≥ 15.0-RELEASE and < p9	Vulnerable	CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector

Network

Attack complexity

Low

Privileges required

None

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

Low

Availability

None

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
6.5	CVSS 3.1	Medium	3.9	2.5	134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
6.5	CVSS 3.1	Medium	—	—	CISA-ADP via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N (score shown at the top: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.29%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).

web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPS

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

2026
Affected products added · freebsd/freebsd
Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
SSVC assessment updated
Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Record published
Oct 13, 2026
CVSS changed · 6.5
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
Source status changed · → Analyzed
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
Record created in this database
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVE published
May 21, 2026 · freebsd

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

1 on the record

security.freebsd.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-26:24.cap_net.asc
Vendor Advisory, vendor-advisory, NIST National Vulnerability Database

Elsewhere on this site

Freebsd
every CVE for this vendor

Privilege escalation
same class

CWE-269
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

High CVE-2026-101310 Multiple vulnerabilities in bhyve device models 14h
High CVE-2026-101311 Multiple vulnerabilities in bhyve device models 14h
High CVE-2026-101309 Multiple vulnerabilities in bhyve device models 14h
Unknown CVE-2026-58100 Memory safety bugs in kqueue copy-on-fork implementation 15h
Unknown CVE-2026-58099 Memory safety bugs in kqueue copy-on-fork implementation 15h
Unknown CVE-2026-58098 Heap out-of-bounds access in semop(2) 15h

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-2026-45254 is "Incorrect libcap_net limitation list manipulation", rated Medium. It affects Freebsd (Freebsd); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 6.5 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.29% 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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