CVE-2026-16526

A flaw in the PCP linux_sockets module exposes an unsecured internal connection. An attacker with initial code execution can exploit this to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary commands as root.

This is an Important privilege escalation vulnerability in PCP where an attacker can escalate privileges from the pcp user to root. This flaw requires a prior linux_sockets command injection vulnerability and a non-default configuration where the linux_sockets PMDA is loaded as a DSO in PMCD. Exploitation can occur locally or remotely depending on the pmcd and pmproxy configurations.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

To mitigate this vulnerability, ensure that the linux_sockets PMDA is not configured to load as a Dynamic Shared Object (DSO) within PMCD. The default configuration for this PMDA is daemon mode, which is not affected by this flaw. Review your pmcd.conf file to confirm the linux_sockets PMDA is not loaded as a DSO. If changes are made to pmcd.conf, a restart of the pmcd service is required for them to take effect.