A flaw was found in libcap. A local unprivileged user can exploit a Time-of-check-to-time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition in the `cap_set_file()` function. This allows an attacker with write access to a parent directory to redirect file capability updates to an attacker-controlled file. By doing so, capabilities can be injected into or stripped from unintended executables, leading to privilege escalation.

oracle_linux ELSA-2026-12441: ELSA-2026-12441:  libcap security update (IMPORTANT)

The Unity Linux 20 host has a package installed that is affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the UTSA-2026-016785 advisory.

    A flaw was found in libcap. A local unprivileged user can exploit a Time-of-check-to-time-of-use (TOCTOU)     race condition in the `cap_set_file()` function. This allows an attacker with write access to a parent     directory to redirect file capability updates to an attacker-controlled file. By doing so, capabilities     can be injected into or stripped from unintended executables, leading to privilege escalation.

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Unity Linux security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

The remote MiracleLinux 8 host has packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the AXSA:2026-559:02 advisory.

    * libcap: libcap: Privilege escalation via TOCTOU race condition in cap_set_file() (CVE-2026-4878)

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the MiracleLinux security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

The remote Oracle Linux 8 host has packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the ELSA-2026-13285 advisory.

    [2.48-6.1]
    - Fix TOCTOU race condition in cap_set_file() (CVE-2026-4878)       Resolves: RHEL-169304

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Oracle Linux security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

The remote RockyLinux 8 host has packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the RLSA-2026:13285 advisory.

    * libcap: libcap: Privilege escalation via TOCTOU race condition in cap_set_file() (CVE-2026-4878)

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the RockyLinux security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

The remote AlmaLinux 8 host has packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the ALSA-2026:13285 advisory.

    * libcap: libcap: Privilege escalation via TOCTOU race condition in cap_set_file() (CVE-2026-4878)

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the AlmaLinux security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

The remote MiracleLinux 9 host has packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the AXSA:2026-540:01 advisory.

    * libcap: libcap: Privilege escalation via TOCTOU race condition in cap_set_file() (CVE-2026-4878)

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the MiracleLinux security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

The remote Redhat Enterprise Linux 8 host has packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the RHSA-2026:13285 advisory.

    Libcap is a library for getting and setting POSIX.1e (formerly POSIX 6) draft 15 capabilities.

    Security Fix(es):

    * libcap: libcap: Privilege escalation via TOCTOU race condition in cap_set_file() (CVE-2026-4878)

    For more details about the security issue(s), including the impact, a CVSS score, acknowledgments, and     other related information, refer to the CVE page(s) listed in the References section.

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Red Hat Enterprise Linux security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

The remote RockyLinux 10 host has packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the RLSA-2026:12423 advisory.

    * libcap: libcap: Privilege escalation via TOCTOU race condition in cap_set_file() (CVE-2026-4878)

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the RockyLinux security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

The remote RockyLinux 9 host has packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the RLSA-2026:12441 advisory.

    * libcap: libcap: Privilege escalation via TOCTOU race condition in cap_set_file() (CVE-2026-4878)

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the RockyLinux security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

The remote AlmaLinux 10 host has packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the ALSA-2026:12423 advisory.

    * libcap: libcap: Privilege escalation via TOCTOU race condition in cap_set_file() (CVE-2026-4878)

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the AlmaLinux security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

The remote AlmaLinux 9 host has packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the ALSA-2026:12441 advisory.

    * libcap: libcap: Privilege escalation via TOCTOU race condition in cap_set_file() (CVE-2026-4878)

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the AlmaLinux security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

The remote Oracle Linux 10 host has packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the ELSA-2026-12423 advisory.

    [2.69-7.1]
    - Fix TOCTOU race condition in cap_set_file() (CVE-2026-4878)       Resolves: RHEL-169301

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Oracle Linux security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

The remote Redhat Enterprise Linux 10 host has packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the RHSA-2026:12423 advisory.

    Libcap is a library for getting and setting POSIX.1e (formerly POSIX 6) draft 15 capabilities.

    Security Fix(es):

    * libcap: libcap: Privilege escalation via TOCTOU race condition in cap_set_file() (CVE-2026-4878)

    For more details about the security issue(s), including the impact, a CVSS score, acknowledgments, and     other related information, refer to the CVE page(s) listed in the References section.

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Red Hat Enterprise Linux security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

The remote Redhat Enterprise Linux 9 host has packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the RHSA-2026:12441 advisory.

    Libcap is a library for getting and setting POSIX.1e (formerly POSIX 6) draft 15 capabilities.

    Security Fix(es):

    * libcap: libcap: Privilege escalation via TOCTOU race condition in cap_set_file() (CVE-2026-4878)

    For more details about the security issue(s), including the impact, a CVSS score, acknowledgments, and     other related information, refer to the CVE page(s) listed in the References section.

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Red Hat Enterprise Linux security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

The remote openSUSE 16 host has packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the openSUSE- SU-2026:20613-1 advisory.

    - CVE-2026-4878: local privilege escalation through file capability injection due to TOCTOU race condition     in       `cap_set_file()` (bsc#1261809).

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the SUSE security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

The remote Ubuntu 22.04 LTS / 24.04 LTS / 25.10 host has packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the USN-8193-1 advisory.

    Ali Raza discovered that libcap incorrectly handled file capability updates. A local attacker could     possibly use this issue to inject or strip capabilities into arbitrary executables and escalate     privileges.

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Ubuntu security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

The remote SUSE Linux SLES12 host has packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the SUSE- SU-2026:1433-1 advisory.

    This update for libcap fixes the following issue:

    - CVE-2026-4878: Address a potential TOCTOU race condition in cap_set_file() (bsc#1261809).

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the SUSE security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

The remote SUSE Linux SLED15 / SLED_SAP15 / SLES15 / SLES_SAP15 host has packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the SUSE-SU-2026:1432-1 advisory.

    This update for libcap fixes the following issue:

    - CVE-2026-4878: Address a potential TOCTOU race condition in cap_set_file() (bsc#1261809).

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the SUSE security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed that are impacted by a vulnerability without a vendor supplied patch available.

  - A flaw was found in libcap. A local unprivileged user can exploit a Time-of-check-to-time-of-use (TOCTOU)     race condition in the `cap_set_file()` function. This allows an attacker with write access to a parent     directory to redirect file capability updates to an attacker-controlled file. By doing so, capabilities     can be injected into or stripped from unintended executables, leading to privilege escalation.
    (CVE-2026-4878)

Note that Nessus relies on the presence of the package as reported by the vendor.

ID	Name	Product	Family	Severity
313473	Unity Linux 20.1050e / 20.1060e / 20.1070e Security Update: libcap (UTSA-2026-016785)	Nessus	Unity Linux Local Security Checks	high
313053	MiracleLinux 8 : libcap-2.48-6.el8_10.1 (AXSA:2026-559:02)	Nessus	Miracle Linux Local Security Checks	high
312678	Oracle Linux 8 : libcap (ELSA-2026-13285)	Nessus	Oracle Linux Local Security Checks	high
312324	RockyLinux 8 : libcap (RLSA-2026:13285)	Nessus	Rocky Linux Local Security Checks	high
312095	AlmaLinux 8 : libcap (ALSA-2026:13285)	Nessus	Alma Linux Local Security Checks	high
311943	MiracleLinux 9 : libcap-2.48-10.el9_7.1 (AXSA:2026-540:01)	Nessus	Miracle Linux Local Security Checks	high
311826	RHEL 8 : libcap (RHSA-2026:13285)	Nessus	Red Hat Local Security Checks	high
311807	RockyLinux 10 : libcap (RLSA-2026:12423)	Nessus	Rocky Linux Local Security Checks	high
311806	RockyLinux 9 : libcap (RLSA-2026:12441)	Nessus	Rocky Linux Local Security Checks	high
311555	AlmaLinux 10 : libcap (ALSA-2026:12423)	Nessus	Alma Linux Local Security Checks	high
311552	AlmaLinux 9 : libcap (ALSA-2026:12441)	Nessus	Alma Linux Local Security Checks	high
311542	Oracle Linux 10 : libcap (ELSA-2026-12423)	Nessus	Oracle Linux Local Security Checks	high
311492	RHEL 10 : libcap (RHSA-2026:12423)	Nessus	Red Hat Local Security Checks	high
311352	RHEL 9 : libcap (RHSA-2026:12441)	Nessus	Red Hat Local Security Checks	high
310086	openSUSE 16 Security Update : libcap (openSUSE-SU-2026:20613-1)	Nessus	SuSE Local Security Checks	high
309182	Ubuntu 22.04 LTS / 24.04 LTS / 25.10 : libcap vulnerability (USN-8193-1)	Nessus	Ubuntu Local Security Checks	high
307423	SUSE SLES12 Security Update : libcap (SUSE-SU-2026:1433-1)	Nessus	SuSE Local Security Checks	high
307417	SUSE SLED15 / SLES15 Security Update : libcap (SUSE-SU-2026:1432-1)	Nessus	SuSE Local Security Checks	high
305106	Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-4878	Nessus	Misc.	high

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