Potential snap-confine Privilege Escalation via CVE-2026-3888

Last updated a month ago on 2026-04-02
Created 2 months ago on 2026-03-18

About

This rule detects non-root file creation within "/tmp/.snap" or its host backing path "/tmp/snap-private-tmp/*/tmp/.snap", which may indicate exploitation attempts related to CVE-2026-3888. In vulnerable Ubuntu systems, the snap-confine utility normally creates the "/tmp/.snap" directory as root when initializing a snap sandbox. The vulnerability arises when systemd-tmpfiles deletes this directory after it becomes stale, allowing an unprivileged user to recreate it and populate attacker-controlled files. During subsequent snap sandbox initialization, snap-confine may bind-mount or trust these attacker-controlled paths, enabling manipulation of libraries or configuration files that can lead to local privilege escalation to root. Because legitimate creation of ".snap" directories should only be performed by root, non-root file activity in these locations is highly suspicious. This detection helps identify early stages of the exploit before privilege escalation is completed.
Tags
Domain: EndpointOS: LinuxUse Case: Threat DetectionUse Case: VulnerabilityTactic: Privilege EscalationData Source: Elastic DefendLanguage: eql
Severity
high
Risk Score
73
MITRE ATT&CK™

Privilege Escalation (TA0004)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

License
Elastic License v2(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Definition

Rule Type
Event Correlation Rule
Integration Pack
Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Index Patterns
logs-endpoint.events.file*
Related Integrations

endpoint(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Query
text code block:
file where host.os.type == "linux" and event.action == "creation" and file.path like ("/tmp/.snap*", "/tmp/snap-private-tmp/*/tmp/.snap*") and user.id != "0"

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Potential snap-confine Privilege Escalation via CVE-2026-3888 in the Elastic Security detection engine by installing this rule into your Elastic Stack.

To setup this rule, check out the installation guide for Prebuilt Security Detection Rules(external, opens in a new tab or window).