CVE-2026-75092
Received Received - Intake

Privilege Escalation in leapp-upgrade-el9toel10 via MySQL Plugin Loading

Publication date: 2026-09-15

Last updated on: 2026-09-15

Assigner: redhat-SADP

Description
A privilege escalation flaw was found in the scan_mysql actor of leapp-upgrade-el9toel10 (provided by leapp-repository). During RHEL 9 to RHEL 10 upgrades, the actor runs: mysqld --validate-config --log-error-verbosity=2 directly as root in the Leapp actor context, bypassing the packaged MySQL systemd unit that normally starts the daemon as User=mysql. A process compromised as the mysql OS identity can write a version-2 persisted configuration (mysqld-auto.cnf) and a malicious shared object into /var/lib/mysql (a directory owned by mysql). That persisted map can set plugin_dir to /var/lib/mysql and early_plugin_load (or related loader options such as plugin_load / plugin_load_add) so MySQL loads the attacker-controlled object during configuration validation. Plugin loading can reach dlopen() before MySQL’s runtime-user check and before plugin-symbol validation. When an administrator subsequently runs the documented Leapp preupgrade or upgrade workflow, attacker-controlled code can execute as UID 0 with a full capability set in an unconfined SELinux domain (unconfined_t). The attack does not require write access to the default system plugin path under /usr; redirecting plugin_dir via mysql-owned persisted state is sufficient. Ordinary SQL privileges alone (including highly privileged SQL accounts) are not a sufficient startpoint — OS-level execution as the mysql service identity is required, plus later administrator invocation of Leapp.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

Probability:
Percentile:

Meta Information

Published
2026-09-15
Last Modified
2026-09-15
Generated
2026-09-15
AI Q&A
2026-09-15
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-75092
EUVD
EUVD-2026-78326

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 4 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
redhat leapp-upgrade-el9toel10 *
red_hat leapp-upgrade-el9toel10 *
red_hat leapp-repository *
mysql mysql *

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
CWE Icon
KEV
KEV Icon
CWE ID Description
CWE-250 The product performs an operation at a privilege level that is higher than the minimum level required, which creates new weaknesses or amplifies the consequences of other weaknesses.

Attack-Flow Graph

AI Quick Actions

Instant insights powered by AI
Executive Summary

This is a privilege escalation vulnerability in the leapp-upgrade-el9toel10 tool used for upgrading RHEL 9 to RHEL 10. The scan_mysql actor runs mysqld as root during upgrades, bypassing normal MySQL service restrictions. An attacker with OS-level access as the mysql user can place malicious files in /var/lib/mysql to trick MySQL into loading attacker-controlled code during configuration validation. When an administrator later runs Leapp preupgrade or upgrade, the malicious code executes as root with full privileges.

Impact Analysis

If you are an administrator performing RHEL 9 to RHEL 10 upgrades using Leapp, an attacker who already has access to your system as the mysql user could exploit this to gain full root privileges. This could allow complete system compromise, data theft, or further lateral movement within your environment.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to unauthorized root access, potentially violating compliance requirements for data protection and access controls in standards like GDPR and HIPAA. A successful exploit could result in unauthorized data access, modification, or exfiltration, leading to regulatory penalties and loss of trust.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply the patch from the leapp-repository pull request #1343 which addresses MySQL upgrade compatibility issues. Remove deprecated MySQL configuration options and check for customized services using invalid arguments. Ensure the scan_mysql actor no longer runs mysqld as root without dropping privileges to the mysql user.

Chat Assistant

Ask questions about this CVE
Hi! I’m here to help you understand CVE-2026-75092. Ask me anything about the vulnerability, its impact, or mitigation strategies.
0/70

EPSS Chart