Vulnerability Advisory
CVE-2026-3888
Qualys has disclosed CVE-2026-3888 — a high-severity local privilege escalation flaw in default Ubuntu Desktop 24.04 and later installations that allows an unprivileged local attacker to gain full root access by exploiting the interaction between snap-confine and systemd-tmpfiles. Patch USN-8102-1 is available — update immediately.
Severity
high
CVSS Score
7.8 / 10
Published
Mar 18, 2026
Affected Products
- ›Ubuntu Desktop 24.04 LTS — default installation
- ›Ubuntu Desktop 25.10 — mitigated prior to release by reverting default rm to GNU coreutils
- ›Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, 18.04 LTS, 20.04 LTS, 22.04 LTS — affected per CVE record
- ›snapd — all versions prior to the patch on affected Ubuntu releases
- ›uutils coreutils — the Rust rewrite of GNU coreutils, separate race condition vulnerability discovered and mitigated before Ubuntu 25.10 release
Full Analysis
CVE-2026-3888: Ubuntu Default Installation Flaw Lets Unprivileged Attackers Escalate to Root via systemd Cleanup Timing
Deep-dive: technical breakdown, real-world impact, complete remediation steps, and expert context.
Read the full report →