Incus
CVE-2026-23954
HIGH
GHSA-7f67-crqm-jgh7
Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessUser launches container with custom image
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ExploitCraft metadata.yaml with symlink/traversal templates
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ExecutionRead/write arbitrary host files
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ImpactExecute commands on host
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling Path canonicalization, traversal prevention
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Discovery, Collection The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | User must be member of 'incus' group with container launch capability; custom image with malicious metadata.yaml containing template definitions with directory traversal or symbolic links; Incus version 6.21.0 or below. |
| Impact | CVSS 8.7 (HIGH). Attack vector: Adjacent Network. Complexity: Low. Privileges required: Low. User interaction: None. Public exploit/POC available. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker could exploit this flaw, arbitrary command execution on the host. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Mar 12, 2026
Incus is a system container and virtual machine manager. [CVSS 8.7 HIGH]
RemediationAI
A vendor patch is available — apply it immediately. Validate and sanitize file path inputs. Use allowlists.
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 3 packages in go
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
Classified as CWE-22 (Path Traversal). Affects the templating component of Incus. 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
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- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source
AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
Primary rating from GitHub Advisory.
CVSS VectorGitHub Advisory
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionGitHub Advisory
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.
Executive ViewAI
CVE-2026-23954 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting Incus container and VM management systems with a CVSS score of 8.7, presenting significant risk to organizations using this technology for infrastructure orchestration. A public exploit exists, making this vulnerability actively exploitable and requiring urgent remediation. Organizations running Incus should prioritize patching to prevent potential compromise of containerized workloads and virtual infrastructure.
Apply vendor patch.
Threat Intelligence Overview
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Path traversal exploits occur when applications use user-controlled input to construct file system paths without proper validation.
Affected Products (CPE)GitHub Advisory
Incus contains a vulnerability that allows attackers to adding arbitrary lifecycle hooks, ultimately resulting in arbitr
Path traversal in Incus system container manager allows authenticated remote attackers to write arbitrary files as root
Incus system container and virtual machine manager versions prior to 6.23.0 allow authenticated users with instance acce
Arbitrary file write in Incus (before 6.0.7, 6.1.0 before 7.0.2, and 7.1.0 before 7.5.0) allows an authenticated client
Authentication bypass in Incus webui (versions prior to 6.23.0) permits local or remote attackers to gain unauthorized a
Project isolation bypass in Incus lets an authenticated client that is confined to one project copy and read custom stor
Authenticated restricted TLS clients on Incus can retrieve S3 access and secret keys for storage buckets in the default
Incus servers that use multi-project tenancy expose in-flight operations across project boundaries because the GET /1.0/
Denial of service in Incus prior to version 6.23.0 allows authenticated users with storage bucket access to crash the In
Incus versions prior to 6.23.0 fail to validate image fingerprints when downloading from simplestreams servers, enabling
Incus versions prior to 6.23.0 allow local authenticated attackers to manipulate temporary screenshot files via predicta
Incus is a system container and virtual machine manager. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.6), this vulnerability is no authen
Same weakness CWE-22 – Path Traversal
View allSame technique Path Traversal
View allVendor StatusVendor
SUSE
Severity: High| Product | Status |
|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | Fixed |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | Fixed |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP5 | Fixed |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP6 | Fixed |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | Fixed |
Exploit-DB