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.
References
Configurations
Configuration 1 (hide)
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History
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Information
Published : 2026-06-24 21:16
Updated : 2026-09-08 19:17
NVD link : CVE-2026-13201
Mitre link : CVE-2026-13201
CVE.ORG link : CVE-2026-13201
JSON object : View
Products Affected
kubevirt
- kubevirt
redhat
- openshift_virtualization
CWE
CWE-61
UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following