Networkmanager-sstp: networkmanager-sstp: local privilege escalation to root via shell injection in vpn profile fields
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-78.
Summary
A flaw was found in NetworkManager-sstp, the SSTP VPN plugin for NetworkManager. A local unprivileged user can exploit this vulnerability by embedding special characters, known as shell metacharacters, into VPN connection profile fields such as CA certificate or proxy settings. These unescaped characters are then processed by the `pppd` daemon, which runs with root privileges, allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary commands with elevated permissions when a malicious VPN connection is activated.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Vendor assessments
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-91838
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-94qh-3pf4-8c4r
References
More GNOME vulnerabilities
- TI-2023-23091 Gnome-maps: gnome maps is vulnerable to a code injection attack (similar to xss) via its service.json CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-41775 Glib: off-by-one error in glib/gkeyfile.c via "g_key_file_get_locale_string_list" CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.6
- TI-2026-41772 Glib: out-of-bounds read in glib/gdatetime.c:g_date_time_get_ymd via invalid gdatetime CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2026-03716 Libsoup: libsoup: denial of service via use-after-free in http/2 server CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2024-28393 Integer overflow in GNOME G Structured File Library CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2024-24253 Integer overflow in GNOME G Structured File Library CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
Sources
- CVE-2026-91838 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-91838 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-94qh-3pf4-8c4r · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-91838 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences