Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A07:2025 - Authentication Failures
ASVS 5.0
V12 - Secure Communication Certificate validation
|
| Impact | The CVSS 4.0 vector (5.7 medium severity) reflects attack vector network, attack complexity high, attack timing persistent, privilege level required local, and no user interaction. The authentication requirement (PR:L) significantly constrains real-world risk compared to unauthenticated vectors. The high integrity impact (SI:H) and moderate scope elevation (SC:L) correctly model the multi-tenant poisoning scenario. EPSS shows exploitation probability (E:P), indicating some measurable likelihood but not certainty. No KEV (CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities) status is reported, indicating no confirmed active exploitation at time of analysis. The combination of required local authentication, high attack complexity, and the narrow circumstance requirement (multi-tenant poisoning) suggests this is a real but constrained risk: it threatens integrity in specific deployment models but does not enable broad remote compromise. Organizations running single-tenant or isolated Incus deployments face minimal practical risk; multi-tenant hosting providers should prioritize patching. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker with local authentication credentials to an Incus host in a multi-tenant environment initiates a container or VM image download from a simplestreams repository. The attacker intercepts or influences the download (via network positioning, ARP spoofing, or DNS manipulation-requiring high attack complexity and persistent timing) to deliver a malicious image while bypassing fingerprint validation. The poisoned image is cached locally. When another tenant requests the same image identifier, they receive the attacker's payload instead of the legitimate image, allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary code within the victim tenant's container or VM context. No public exploit code has been identified at the time of this analysis. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Mar 26, 2026
Incus versions prior to 6.23.0 fail to validate image fingerprints when downloading from simplestreams servers, enabling attackers with local privileges to poison the image cache and potentially cause other tenants to execute attacker-controlled container or virtual machine images instead of legitimate ones. The vulnerability requires local authentication and specific conditions but carries high integrity impact in multi-tenant environments; no active exploitation has been confirmed.
RemediationAI
Upgrade Incus to version 6.23.0 or later immediately. This is the vendor-released patch that restores cryptographic validation of image fingerprints. Organizations unable to patch immediately should restrict network access to simplestreams repositories to trusted, authenticated channels only; implement image pull verification workflows that independently validate fingerprints outside the Incus download path; and segregate multi-tenant deployments to minimize blast radius if cache poisoning occurs. Consult the GitHub security advisory (https://github.com/lxc/incus/security/advisories/GHSA-p8mm-23gg-jc9r) for additional mitigation guidance and patch verification procedures.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 4 packages in go, euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
Incus (cpe:2.3:a:lxc:incus:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*) is a system container and virtual machine manager that orchestrates container and VM deployments. The vulnerability stems from CWE-295 (Improper Certificate Validation), specifically the absence of cryptographic verification of image fingerprints during download operations from simplestreams image repositories. Simplestreams is a protocol for publishing streams of cloud images with metadata; proper validation requires verifying the cryptographic digest (fingerprint) of downloaded image artifacts matches the expected value advertised in repository metadata. The lack of this validation creates a window for cache poisoning attacks where an attacker with local credentials could intercept or influence the download process to substitute a malicious image, which would then be cached and served to other tenants requesting the same image identifier.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:N/SC:L/SI:H/SA:N/E:P
AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
Primary rating from GitHub Advisory.
CVSS VectorGitHub Advisory
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionGitHub Advisory
Incus is a system container and virtual machine manager. Prior to version 6.23.0, a lack of validation of the image fingerprint when downloading from simplestreams image servers opens the door to image cache poisoning and under very narrow circumstances exposes other tenants to running attacker controlled images rather than the expected one. Version 6.23.0 patches the issue.
Executive ViewAI
Organizations using Incus should be aware of moderate risk from CVE-2026-33542 rated CVSS 5.7. Exploitation could compromise the security of affected deployments. Organizations should apply vendor updates when available and monitor for exploitation.
Apply vendor patch. If patching is delayed: restrict network access and enable monitoring.
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
Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.
Incus is a system container and virtual machine manager. [CVSS 8.7 HIGH]
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 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-295 – Improper Certificate Validation
View allSame technique Information Disclosure
View allVendor StatusVendor
SUSE
Severity: Medium| Product | Status |
|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | Fixed |
EUVD-2026-16460
GHSA-p8mm-23gg-jc9r
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB