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SystemdApplication · Systemd Project

CVE-2026-40224

HIGH · 7.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 259.3 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In systemd 259 before 260, there is local privilege escalation in systemd-machined because varlink can be used to reach the root namespace.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

Local privilege escalation vulnerability in systemd-machined (versions 259 before 260) allows local attackers to gain root privileges by exploiting varlink IPC to reach the root namespace, bypassing intended namespace isolation controls.

MitigationUpgrade systemd to version 260 or later to obtain the fix. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, consider restricting access to systemd-machined varlink socket via filesystem permissions or systemd socket access controls.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
SystemdApplication
Affected:>= 259, < 259.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed systemd version
    Run `systemctl --version` or `rpm -q systemd` (RHEL/Debian) or `pacman -Q systemd` (Arch) to obtain the exact version number
    Affected if Version is 259.x (any subversion before 260) or falls within >= 259, < 259.3 if that specific range applies
  2. Verify systemd-machined service status
    Run `systemctl status systemd-machined` to check if the service is active and enabled
    Affected if Service is running and the systemd version is within the affected range
  3. Check for varlink socket presence
    Inspect `/run/systemd/private` and look for machinized varlink socket (typically `/run/systemd/machined/private` or socket in `/run/systemd/`) using `ls -la /run/systemd/`
    Affected if Varlink socket exists and is accessible to non-root users, and systemd version is affected
  4. Verify socket permissions
    Run `ls -la` on the varlink socket path to check read/write permissions for unprivileged users
    Affected if Socket has world-readable/writeable permissions (e.g., 0666 or allows group/other access) and systemd version is in affected range
  5. Check for unprivileged namespace usage
    Review if the system uses unprivileged user namespaces, container managers, or VM tooling that relies on systemd-machined (e.g., `machinectl list` as non-root)
    Affected if Unprivileged users can access machinectl to interact with machined, and systemd version is affected

User is affected if systemd version is 259.x (any subversion before 260) and systemd-machined service is running with accessible varlink IPC interface.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 259.3 or later
Fixed in 259.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade systemd to version 260 or later to obtain the fix. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, consider restricting access to systemd-machined varlink socket via filesystem permissions or systemd socket access controls.

Recommended fix High confidence

systemd >= 260

  1. 1. Identify the current systemd version installed on the system using: systemctl --version
  2. 2. Check if the installed version is >= 259 and < 260 (vulnerable)
  3. 3. Update the system package repository to ensure latest packages are available
  4. 4. Upgrade systemd to version 260 or later using the appropriate package manager (e.g., apt-get update && apt-get install systemd, or dnf update systemd, or yum update systemd)
  5. 5. After upgrade, restart the system or at minimum restart systemd-machined.service: systemctl restart systemd-machined.service
  6. 6. Verify the new systemd version is >= 260: systemctl --version
Caveat Major systemd upgrades may require system reboot and could affect running services or compatibility with older init scripts

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Systemd Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-40224 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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