CVE-2026-23954: linuxcontainers incus Path Traversal

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-23954 is a high (CVSS 8.7) Path Traversal vulnerability in linuxcontainers incus. EPSS estimates a 0.78% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 55.1% of scored vulnerabilities. 2 public exploits are recorded.

Timeline

1. 22-01-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 26-01-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

Incus is a system container and virtual machine manager. Versions 6.21.0 and below allow a user with the ability to launch a container with a custom image (e.g a member of the ‘incus’ group) to use directory traversal or symbolic links in the templating functionality to achieve host arbitrary file read, and host arbitrary file write. This ultimately results in arbitrary command execution on the host. When using an image with a metadata.yaml containing templates, both the source and target paths are not checked for symbolic links or directory traversal. This can also be exploited in IncusOS. A fix is planned for versions 6.0.6 and 6.21.0, but they have not been released at the time of publication.

• CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.