Medium [CVE-2026-86469] Glib2: toctou symlink race in `g_file_create_replace_destination` fallback path
This medium-severity Red Hat Linux advisory covers CVE-2026-86469 affecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.
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Summary
A flaw was found in GLib2. When g_file_replace() is used with G_FILE_CREATE_REPLACE_DESTINATION and creating the.goutputstream-XXXXXX temporary file fails, the library unlinks the destination and recreates it without exclusive creation or symlink protection.
A local attacker who can write to the destination directory can win that race and redirect the write to another file. Exploitation is local, requires write access to the destination directory, requires the uncommon temp-file fallback in handle_overwrite_open(), and requires winning a race.
The usual g_file_replace() path writes to a temp file first and is not this bug. A successful race can overwrite or create a file the victim process is allowed to write.
Red Hat severity: Moderate — CVSS 5.3 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L). Weakness: CWE-59.
Affected Red Hat products: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9; Red Hat Hardened Images; Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4. Red Hat does not currently list a fixing RHSA for this CVE.
Affected products named by the advisory: Red Hat package: glib2-devel; Red Hat package: glib2-doc; Red Hat package: glib2-static; Red Hat package: glib2-tests; and 5 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 49 minutes ago·verify at source
Fixed versions
No fixed release is recorded yet. That does not prove no patch exists — confirm against the vendor advisory.
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 49 minutes ago·verify at source
Mitigation checklist
- Do not use g_file_replace(..., G_FILE_CREATE_REPLACE_DESTINATION) on paths in directories writable by less-privileged users.
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 49 minutes ago·verify at source
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