CVE-2026-13201

Advisory lineage Upstream: 0 Downstream: 5
Modified
Published: 24 Jun 2026, 20:39
Last modified:08 Sept 2026, 18:46

Vulnerability Summary

Overall Risk (default)
medium
29/100
CVSS Score
7.3 HIGH
v3.1 (cve.org)
EPSS Score
0.22% LOW
0% probability 0.00%
KEV
Not listed
Ransomware
No reports
Public exploits
None found
Dark Web
Not detected

Timeline

24 Jun 2026, 20:39
Published
Vulnerability first disclosed
08 Sept 2026, 18:46
Last Modified
Vulnerability information updated

Description

A flaw was found in KubeVirt's safepath package used by virt-handler. The OpenAtNoFollow function uses O_PATH|O_NOFOLLOW to obtain a file descriptor to a path leaf, but downstream operations resolve the path via /proc/self/fd/N using link-following syscalls. When the leaf is a symlink, the kernel dereferences it, defeating the intended no-follow protection. An attacker with access to a virt-launcher pod can exploit this to redirect virt-handler's IPC socket connections, including the notify socket used for VM domain lifecycle events. By hijacking this socket, the attacker can inject arbitrary domain events into virt-handler, causing it to take incorrect lifecycle actions, corrupt VM state in the Kubernetes API, or crash — resulting in sustained denial of VM management services for all virtual machines on the affected node. Additionally, the same symlink following flaw allows virt-handler to apply file ownership or permission changes to unintended host paths.

CVSS Metrics

  • v3.1•HIGH•Score: 7.3CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:H

EPSS Trends

Current EPSS score: 0.22%• Percentile: 13%

Techniques & Countermeasures

  • CWE-61•UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following

    The product, when opening a file or directory, does not sufficiently account for when the file is a symbolic link that resolves to a target outside of the intended control sphere. This could allow an attacker to cause the product to operate on unauthorized files.

Affected Systems

  • kubevirt•kubevirt

    na

  • redhat•openshift_virtualization

    ≥ 4, ≤ 4.22.0

References (12)