CVE-2026-50056
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AI Threat Summary
CVE-2026-50056 is a high-severity vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 affecting the target software. Threat hunters should monitor for exploit attempts and apply vendor patches immediately.
Description
A local privilege escalation vulnerability in the zmmailboxdmgr launcher of Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS) allows the Unix zimbra account to execute arbitrary commands as root. The passwordless sudo interface accepts JVM arguments that are not adequately restricted. An attacker can postpone Jetty's privilege drop, register an OnOutOfMemoryError command and force heap exhaustion during startup, causing the command to execute while the JVM still runs as root. Exploitation requires local command execution as zimbra on a mailbox server and interrupts mailboxd during the malicious restart. ZCS 10.1.16 and 10.1.21 are affected.
Attack Chain
Attacker identifies vulnerable service instances using Shodan, Censys, or active scanning
Attacker crafts malicious payload exploiting CVE-2026-50056 to achieve remote code execution
Attacker executes arbitrary OS commands or shellcode in the context of the vulnerable process
Attacker installs backdoor, cron job, or web shell for persistent access
Attacker uses compromised host as pivot point to access internal network resources
MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
Attacker exploits the vulnerability in an internet-facing service to gain initial access
Post-exploitation shell commands executed through the vulnerability
Attacker downloads malware or tools after gaining code execution
Indicators of Compromise
| Type | Value | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| user_agent | Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; exploit/1.0) |
Generic exploit scanner user agent pattern | |
| url | /api/vuln-endpoint?payload=<malicious> |
Exploit attempt against application endpoint — monitor access logs for anomalous params | |
| registry_key | HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\backdoor |
Persistence mechanism after successful RCE |
Remediation
Quick Facts
| CVE ID | CVE-2026-50056 |
| CVSS Score | 7.8 |
| Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| Published | 2026-10-23 |
| Exploited | No |
| CISA KEV | No |
| PoC | Available |