CVE-2026-13622
Kubevirt: virt-handler-rhel9: kubevirt: virt-handler migration proxy follows symlinks allowing container escape to host
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.
INFO
Published Date :
Aug. 12, 2026, 9:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
Aug. 12, 2026, 9:17 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
[email protected]
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | 53f830b8-0a3f-465b-8143-3b8a9948e749 | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | [email protected] |
Solution
- Disable symlink following in virt-handler migration proxy.
- Validate socket paths for symlinks.
- Update virt-handler to apply these security measures.
- Restrict pods/exec permissions.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-13622.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-13622 | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2494142 |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-13622 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-13622
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-13622 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-13622 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Aug. 12, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:container_native_virtualization:4'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization 4', 'packageName': 'container-native-virtualization/virt-handler', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:container_native_virtualization:4'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization 4', 'packageName': 'container-native-virtualization/virt-handler-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] Added 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. Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H Added CWE CWE-22 Added Reference https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-13622 Added Reference https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2494142