Kubevirt: virt-handler-rhel9: kubevirt: virt-handler migration proxy follows symlinks allowing container escape to host
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-13622 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | redhat |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-08-12 21:17:35 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-08-14 11:16:56 UTC |
| Description | A symlink following vulnerability was found in KubeVirt's virt-handler migration proxy. During live migration, virt-handler dials Unix sockets inside the target virt-launcher pod via /proc/<pid>/root/ paths using net.Dial() without symlink protection. These socket paths reside in qemu-owned directories writable by the virt-launcher user. An attacker with namespace edit and pods/exec permissions can replace a migration proxy socket with a symlink to the host CRI-O socket. Because virt-handler runs as root in the host mount namespace, absolute symlink targets resolve against the host filesystem, and the bidirectional io.Copy proxy relays attacker-controlled bytes to the container runtime, enabling full node compromise. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 8.8 HIGH from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS: 0.001390000 probability, percentile 0.037050000 (date 2026-08-13)
Problem Types: CWE-22 | CWE-22 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 8.8 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 8.8 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
LocalAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
LowUser Interaction
NoneScope
ChangedConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.12 | unaffected 1785837722 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.13 | unaffected 1786346596 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.14 | unaffected 1786309624 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.15 | unaffected 1786347656 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.16 | unaffected 1786030071 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.17 | unaffected 1786348529 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.18 | unaffected 1786130068 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.19 | unaffected 1786334215 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.20 | unaffected 1785831334 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.21 | unaffected 1785829701 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.22 | unaffected 1785140336 * rpm | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53826 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53655 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53721 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| access.redhat.com/errata/RHEA-2026:53670 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53763 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi | [email protected] | bugzilla.redhat.com | |
| access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53838 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53684 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53671 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53797 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:51031 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-13622 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53728 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: This issue was discovered by Huzaifa Sidhpurwala (Red Hat). (en)
Additional Advisory Data
| Source | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| CNA | 2026-06-29T10:07:50.206Z | Reported to Red Hat. |
| CNA | 2026-08-12T00:00:00.000Z | Made public. |
Workarounds
CNA: Restrict pods/exec permissions in namespaces that run virtual machines. The pods/exec RBAC permission is required for the attack — removing it from VM operator roles prevents exploitation. Additionally, enable Kubernetes audit logging and monitor for kubectl exec commands targeting virt-launcher pods, especially during live migration events.
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.