mount in util-linux 2.19 and earlier does not remove the /etc/mtab.tmp file after a failed attempt to add a mount entry, which allows local…

published 2011-04-10 15 y ago modified 2026-06-16 4 mo ago also EUVD-2011-1676

cvss: 3.3; version 2.0, NVD
cisa kev: Not listed; not in CISA's catalog
epss: 0.5%; EPSS 0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 42%
public exploits: 0; none known

mount in util-linux 2.19 and earlier does not remove the /etc/mtab.tmp file after a failed attempt to add a mount entry, which allows local users to trigger corruption of the /etc/mtab file via multiple invocations.

Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2011-1676 updated 2026-11-07 cvss 3.3

util-linux: mount does not remove /etc/mtab.tmp after failed mount entry addition

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 util-linux Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 util-linux Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 uuidd, libuuid, libblkid, util-linux-ng
not affected: vulnerable code not present

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

Exploit prediction

0.49% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 42% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).

Exploits and checks

bugzilla.redhat.com https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=688980 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
openwall.com http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/03/31/3 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
NVD	2.0	3.3	AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N

Classification

Weakness

CWE-264 Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls

References

bugzilla.redhat.com /show_bug.cgi?id=688980
exploit
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/31/3
mailing-list, exploit
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/14/5
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/04/9
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/22/6
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/22/4
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/05/7
mailing-list
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com /vulnerabilities/66704
vdb-entry
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/07/9
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/04/01/2
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/04/10
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/14/16
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/31/4
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/04/12
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/14/7
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/04/11
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/05/3
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/15/6
mailing-list

Sources

CVE List CVE-2011-1676
NVD CVE-2011-1676

Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.

Summary