CVE-2026-12544 — Red Hat
HIGHCVE-2026-12544 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.7) Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.
A flaw was found in Foreman. The foreman-rake initialization logic in /usr/share/foreman/config/settings.rb contains a vulnerable code pattern where configuration data is processed…
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2026-12544.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2026-12544 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 381,682 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Description
A flaw was found in Foreman. The foreman-rake initialization logic in /usr/share/foreman/config/settings.rb contains a vulnerable code pattern where configuration data is processed through two distinct executable layers. This creates a multi-stage execution chain that allows for both Server-Side Template Injection (SSTI) and insecure deserialization. This vulnerability can lead to remote code execution, total infrastructure compromise and supply chain risk.
Detection & mitigation playbook
VulnerabilityDetect
Identify every host running the affected component and compare the installed build against the fixed version below — for source-built or distro-packaged software the version string, not a lockfile, is the source of truth (`dpkg -l`, `rpm -q`, or the binary's own `--version`).
Remediation status
No fixed release is recorded for CVE-2026-12544 yet. Track the upstream advisory, and apply the exposure-reduction steps below in the meantime.
Mitigate without a patch
Do not deserialise data from untrusted sources: where the format allows it, restrict deserialisation to an explicit allowlist of expected types, and prefer a data-only format (JSON, Protobuf) over one that can reconstruct arbitrary objects until you can upgrade.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
- Indirect triggering and remote code execution: foreman-rake exposes underlying execution primitives that higher-level orchestration tools (like foreman-maintain or foreman-installer) rely on to interact with the application. Because these tools implicitly pass commands down, the vulnerability can be triggered…
Red Hat has investigated whether a possible mitigation exists for this issue, and has not been able to identify a practical example. Please update the affected package as soon as possible.Source: Red Hat security advisory for CVE-2026-12544 (CC BY 4.0)
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Satellite 6.16 for RHEL 8 | foreman-0:3.12.0.23-1.el8sat | RHSA-2026:74506 |
| Red Hat Satellite 6.18 for RHEL 9 | foreman-0:3.16.0.25-1.el9sat | RHSA-2026:74504 |
| Red Hat Satellite 6.19 for RHEL 9 | foreman-0:3.18.0.14-1.el9sat | RHSA-2026:74503 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-12544 in your dependencies?
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