Red Hat Satellite 6.16 for RHEL 8: Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions
CVE-2026-96659 is a critical-severity privilege defined with unsafe actions vulnerability in Red Hat Satellite 6.16 for RHEL 8 from Red Hat, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.35% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.
What to do
- Update Satellite to 6.16.4 or 6.17.12 or 6.19.5 or 6.18.10, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Read the advisory on access.redhat.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat | Red Hat Satellite 6.16 for RHEL 8 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Satellite 6.16 for RHEL 9 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Satellite 6.17 for RHEL 9 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Satellite 6.18 for RHEL 9 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Satellite 6.19 for RHEL 9 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Satellite | 6.16 up to, but not including, 6.16.4; 6.17 up to, but not including, 6.17.12; 6.19 up to, but not including, 6.19.5; 6.18 up to, but not including, 6.18.10 | 6.16.4, 6.17.12, 6.19.5, 6.18.10 |
| Theforeman | Foreman | 1.9.0 through 3.19.1; 5.0.0 | Not stated |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- ChangedThe attack can reach beyond the vulnerable component into other systems.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- LowLimited modification of data is possible.
- Availability
- LowPerformance or availability is reduced.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:L. Scored by CNA (redhat.com).
Official description
A flaw was found in Foreman. This vulnerability allows an authenticated user with low-level Viewer permissions to cause unauthorized information disclosure by submitting requests to template preview endpoints. By exploiting this issue, the user can access sensitive data, such as host root passwords. Furthermore, under insecure system configurations where Safemode protections are disabled, the flaw may allow the user to execute arbitrary commands as the Foreman system account.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions
A particular privilege, role, capability, or right can be used to perform unsafe actions that were not intended, even when it is assigned to the correct entity.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Very carefully manage the setting, management, and handling of privileges. Explicitly manage trust zones in the software.
- Run your code using the lowest privileges that are required to accomplish the necessary tasks. If possible, create isolated accounts with limited privileges that are only used for a single task. That way, a successful attack will not immediately give the attacker access to the rest of the software or its environment. For example, database applications rarely need to run as the database administrator, especially in day-to-day operations.
More Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions vulnerabilities (CWE-267)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: partial).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Advisories
Patches and release notes
- openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/10/07/1Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
Other vulnerabilities in Red Hat Satellite 6.16 for RHEL 8
- 8.8 High severity
- 7.1 High severity
- 7.7 High severity
- 9.6 Critical severity
- 7.1 High severity
- 8.1 High severity
Recent Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions vulnerabilities
- 8.8 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 9.0 Critical severity
- 8.7 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 8.1 High severity
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