CVE-2026-16742
Received Received - Intake

Local Privilege Escalation in systemd-homed via Group Manipulation

Publication date: 2026-08-10

Last updated on: 2026-08-10

Assigner: systemd

Description
systemd-homed contains a local privilege escalation bug via arbitrary system group addition to a local, logged in, homed-managed user

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Meta Information

Published
2026-08-10
Last Modified
2026-08-10
Generated
2026-08-31
AI Q&A
2026-08-10
EPSS Evaluated
2026-08-29
NVD
CVE-2026-16742
EUVD
EUVD-2026-55626

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
systemd systemd_homed *

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-269 The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.
CWE-347 The product does not verify, or incorrectly verifies, the cryptographic signature for data.

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Executive Summary

systemd-homed has a local privilege escalation vulnerability where an attacker with local access can add arbitrary system groups to a logged-in user managed by systemd-homed. This allows the attacker to gain elevated privileges on the system.

Detection Guidance

Check systemd-homed version with 'homectl --version' or 'systemctl --user status systemd-homed'. If version is between 245-261 or main branch, it is vulnerable. Inspect ~/.identity files for unprivileged users for modified timestamps or added privileged groups like sudo or wheel.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability could allow an attacker with local access to escalate their privileges to root or other high-level system groups. This could lead to full system compromise, unauthorized data access, or installation of malicious software.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data, violating compliance requirements like GDPR (data protection) and HIPAA (health information privacy). Organizations may face legal penalties or reputational damage if exploited.

Mitigation Strategies

Update systemd to the latest patched version immediately. Disable systemd-homed if not in use by stopping the service and masking it with systemctl stop systemd-homed and systemctl mask systemd-homed.

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