High [CVE-2026-16524] PCP linux_sockets PMDA: Arbitrary Command Execution via Command Injection
This high-severity Red Hat Linux advisory covers CVE-2026-16524 affecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On.
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Summary
A command injection flaw in PCP's linux_sockets PMDA allows malicious shell metacharacters via the network.persocket.filter metric. This failed validation lets attackers execute arbitrary commands as the PMDA user when metrics refresh.
This flaw is rated as Important because it allows a local attacker to achieve arbitrary command execution as the PMDA process user within the Performance Co-Pilot (PCP) environment. Exploitation requires the `linux_sockets` PMDA to be loaded and the `ss` utility to be present, which are common configurations.
The vulnerability stems from an inverted validation logic in the `sockets_check_filter()` function, enabling the injection of malicious shell metacharacters into a filter value that is later executed. Red Hat severity: Important — CVSS 7.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).
Weakness: CWE-78.
Affected products named by the advisory: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support; and 9 more.
Affected versions
No affected-version range was extracted from the source record. The vendor advisory is authoritative. Check it before change work.
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 1 month ago·verify at source
- pcp-0:7.0.3-5.el10_2
- pcp-0:6.3.7-1.el10_0.1
- pcp-0:5.3.7-22.el8_10.5
- pcp-0:5.2.5-8.el8_4.1
- pcp-0:5.3.5-10.el8_6.1
- pcp-0:5.3.7-19.el8_8.1
- pcp-0:6.3.7-8.el9_8.4
- pcp-0:6.0.1-8.el9_2.2
- pcp-0:6.2.0-5.el9_4.2
- pcp-0:6.3.7-1.el9_6.1
- RHSA-2026:55617
- RHSA-2026:72273
- RHSA-2026:55560
- RHSA-2026:74613
- RHSA-2026:74612
- RHSA-2026:73767
- RHSA-2026:55740
- RHSA-2026:72594
- RHSA-2026:72593
- RHSA-2026:72272
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 1 month ago·verify at source
Mitigation checklist
- To prevent exploitation, restrict access to the `pmstore` utility by configuring the `[access]` section in `/etc/pcp/pmcd/pmcd.conf`. If the `linux_sockets` PMDA is not essential, it can be unloaded or disabled to remove the attack vector. After modifying `pmcd.conf`, the `pmcd` service must be restarted for changes to take effect.
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 1 month ago·verify at source
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