Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessAuthenticate as instance-creation client
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DeliveryCraft backup index.yaml with ../ dependent volume name
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ExploitImport crafted instance backup
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ExecutionDaemon joins name and os.Mkdir escapes pool dir
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PersistWrite root-owned attacker content on host
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ImpactAchieve full host compromise
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 | The attacker must be a client already authorized to create instances in at least one project (PR:L), and must use Incus's instance-backup import path. The concrete trigger is a crafted backup index.yaml in which a dependent custom volume name contains a ../ traversal chain; per the advisory this name reaches the volume-creation code without the name validation added for CVE-2026-81495/CVE-2026-81496, flows through filepath.Join into os.Mkdir, and escapes the storage pool directory. The attached-device gate is bypassed by splitting the traversal string across the device's pool and source fields because only the pool entry is resolved against a real storage pool. Limiting factors: exploitation requires instance-creation privilege (not anonymous), and affected versions are Incus 7.0.0 before 7.0.2 and 7.1.0 before 7.5.0 only. The vendor's stated workaround is to only allow trusted clients to create instances; the complete fix is upgrading to the fixed branches (7.0.2 / 7.5.0). |
| Impact | This is a genuine high-priority issue, not a high-CVSS-but-low-real-risk case. The signals are consistent and point the same direction: the vuln.today decision label is act_now, the CVSS 4.0 base score is 9.4 with full high impact on both the vulnerable system (VC:H/VI:H/VA:H) and subsequent systems (SC:H/SI:H/SA:H), and the vendor (lxc/incus GHSA-hpjh-q53p-f27r) confirms arbitrary root-owned file write on the host leading to full host compromise plus cross-project volume creation. The attack vector is network (AV:N), low complexity (AC:L/AT:N), no user interaction (UI:N), and requires only low privileges (PR:L) - specifically a client already allowed to create instances. The notable limiter is that PR:L: this is not fully unauthenticated, so the realistic attacker is an authorized-but-untrusted tenant/project user rather than an anonymous internet attacker. No EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no PoC/exploit reference are present in the input - so there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and no exploitation-probability signal to weigh. The absence of KEV/EPSS does not lower the severity of the primitive (reliable root file write via path traversal), but it does mean active-exploitation claims cannot be made. Net: prioritize patching for any multi-tenant or shared Incus deployment. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker holding a low-privilege account permitted to create instances in a project crafts a malicious instance backup whose index.yaml lists a dependent custom volume with a ../ traversal chain in its name (split across the device pool and source fields to pass the attached-device gate). On import, the Incus daemon joins that name via filepath.Join and calls os.Mkdir, creating a root-owned directory with attacker-controlled contents at an arbitrary host path, resulting in full host compromise. No public exploit was identified at time of analysis, and exploitation requires an authenticated instance-creation privilege. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 22, 2026
Path traversal in Incus 7.0.0 before 7.0.2 and 7.1.0 before 7.5.0 allows an authenticated client with permission to create instances to write root-owned directories and attacker-controlled files at arbitrary host paths by importing a crafted instance backup whose index.yaml lists a dependent custom volume with ../ sequences, creating a route to full host compromise. The flaw bypasses the name validation added for CVE-2026-81495 and CVE-2026-81496 because the dependent-volume path reaches volume creation through a different code path, and the attached-device gate can be satisfied by splitting the traversal across the pool and source fields. No public exploit code or CISA KEV entry was identified at time of analysis, but the vendor advisory and an act_now priority decision indicate urgent remediation; CVSS is 9.4.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: upgrade Incus 7.0.x installations to 7.0.2 and Incus 7.1.0+ installations to 7.5.0 or later; the source evidence lists the fixed package version as >= v7.5.0 for go/github.com/lxc/incus/v7/cmd/incusd. See the GitHub security advisory https://github.com/lxc/incus/security/advisories/GHSA-hpjh-q53p-f27r for the vendor fix. The vendor's stated workaround is to only allow trusted clients to create instances; this reduces exposure by keeping the instance-backup import path away from untrusted tenants, but it removes self-service instance creation for those users. Updating is the complete fix, and the advisory does not describe additional mitigations.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
Incus is a system container and virtual machine manager, and the affected component is the Incus daemon package go/github.com/lxc/incus/v7/cmd/incusd. The root cause is CWE-22 (improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory), specifically the use of unvalidated dependent custom volume names from an instance backup's index.yaml as path segments. During instance backup import, Incus validates the instance name and snapshot names but not the names of dependent custom volumes; those names flow verbatim into filepath.Join, which collapses ../ sequences, and then into os.Mkdir and the unpacking of volume data. Prior fixes for CVE-2026-81495 and CVE-2026-81496 added name validation to the direct custom volume and instance backup import handlers, but the dependent volume path nested inside an instance backup reaches the same volume creation code without going through either check. The attached-device gate can be bypassed because only the pool entry of a volume is resolved against a real storage pool, so splitting the traversal string across the device's pool and source fields satisfies the gate. Source evidence marks the Go package as vulnerable below v7.5.0 and fixed in >= v7.5.0, while the vulnerability description identifies fixed versions 7.0.2 for the 7.0.x branch and 7.5.0 for the 7.1.0 branch.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H
Network-reachable daemon API with low-privilege instance-creation rights (PR:L), low complexity, and a scope change (S:C) since the daemon writes root-owned content onto the host beyond the storage component.
Primary rating from Vendor (vulncheck).
CVSS VectorVendor: vulncheck
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Incus 7.0.0 before 7.0.2 and 7.1.0 before 7.5.0 contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows clients able to create instances to write files on the host. The flaw stems from unvalidated dependent custom volume names in instance backup index.yaml files. Attackers can import a crafted instance backup with ../ sequences in dependent volume names to create root-owned directories with controlled content, leading to full host compromise.
Technical POC Analysis
CWE-22 path traversal: improper limiting of a pathname to a restricted directory.
Full technical POC analysis - root cause, step-by-step exploitation and patch breakdown - is part of the Pro and Business plans.
Executive ViewAI
CVE-2026-115375 is a critical path traversal vulnerability in Incus (versions before 7.0.2 and 7.1.0 before 7.5.0) that allows an authenticated user with instance creation rights to write files at arbitrary host paths, potentially leading to full host compromise. This affects organizations using Incus for container or VM management, and leadership should prioritize immediate remediation because the flaw bypasses previous security fixes and enables privilege escalation from a low-privileged user to root-level control.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations include restricting instance creation permissions to trusted users, disabling backup import functionality if not essential, and monitoring for unusual volume creation or file system changes.
Threat Intelligence Overview
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.
EUVD-2026-108298
GHSA-f963-f2v2-v6x5
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Exploit-DB