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Canonical LXD EUVDEUVD-2026-57516

| CVE-2026-63295 MEDIUM
Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863)
2026-08-12 canonical
4.3
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: canonical
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Authenticate to LXD API as project member
  2. Delivery
    Identify project enforcing restricted.containers.privilege=isolated
  3. Exploit
    Submit instance launch omitting security.idmap.isolated key
  4. Execution
    Bypass project isolation enforcement check
  5. Impact
    Operate privileged container with non-isolated UID mappings

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Authorization logic validation
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires all of the following: (1) a valid LXD user account with at minimum operator-level rights to create or update instances within a target project (PR:L - unauthenticated exploitation is not possible); (2) the target LXD project must have restricted.containers.privilege=isolated explicitly configured by an administrator - this is a non-default setting; projects without this restriction are unaffected by this specific bypass; (3) the attacker must submit an instance configuration that omits security.idmap.isolated rather than setting it explicitly. Exploitation is bounded by: authenticated access requirement, the non-default project restriction configuration, and the attacker needing existing project membership. Default LXD deployments and projects without privilege restriction policies are not affected.

Impact

The vendor-assigned CVSS score of 4.3 (Medium) reflects authenticated access (PR:L) and scoped impact. However, the assigned vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L) warrants scrutiny: the A:L (Availability Low) impact is inconsistent with the described behavior, which is fundamentally an integrity and isolation bypass - there is no availability degradation described. An independent assessment suggests I:L is the correct impact dimension. Depending on the privileged container's capabilities post-bypass, a scope change (S:C) may also be warranted if the container can access host namespaces. No EPSS data was provided, and no KEV or POC exists, so automated or widespread exploitation is not confirmed. Real-world priority is elevated in multi-tenant LXD environments where untrusted users share project access; in single-tenant or trusted-user deployments the practical risk is minimal. CVSS vector anomaly (A:L vs. expected I:L) should be verified with Canonical.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An authenticated LXD user with instance-creation rights in a project that enforces restricted.containers.privilege=isolated submits a crafted lxc launch or instance update request that omits the security.idmap.isolated key entirely - causing LXD to skip the isolation enforcement check. The resulting container runs with a non-isolated UID/GID mapping, potentially sharing UID ranges with the host or other containers in violation of the project's security policy. No public proof-of-concept code has been identified at time of analysis, but the bypass mechanism is straightforward for any user familiar with LXD's instance configuration API.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.2% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Aug 12, 2026

Authorization bypass in LXD (Canonical) allows authenticated project members to circumvent container privilege isolation restrictions enforced at the project level. When a project is configured with restricted.containers.privilege=isolated, LXD's enforcement logic fails to apply the restriction if an instance is created or updated without explicitly setting the security.idmap.isolated key - effectively treating omission as permission. No public exploit code or CISA KEV listing exists at time of analysis, but the bypass is exploitable by any authenticated LXD user with instance-creation rights in a restricted project.

RemediationAI

Upgrade LXD to the patched version referenced in the Canonical security advisory at https://github.com/canonical/lxd/security/advisories/GHSA-7vp9-3vmp-c5jm - the exact fixed release version is not independently confirmed from available data and must be verified in the advisory. As a compensating control prior to patching, administrators should audit all existing instance configurations within restricted projects to ensure security.idmap.isolated is explicitly set to true on every instance, rather than relying on the project-level restriction alone. Additionally, LXD project membership and instance-creation rights should be restricted to trusted users only, since the bypass requires authenticated access (PR:L). Note that explicit instance-level key enforcement adds per-instance administrative overhead and may conflict with automation pipelines that rely on project-level policy inheritance.

Affected VersionsENISA

LXD 6.0 <6.10
LXD 5.0.0 <5.0.8
LXD 4.0.0 <4.0.12
LXD 5.21.0 <5.21.6

Affected Packages

euvd lxd fix: 4.0.12, 5.0.8, 5.21.6, 6.10

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

LXD is Canonical's system container and virtual machine manager, widely used in Ubuntu-based infrastructure. Projects in LXD support resource and security restriction policies; restricted.containers.privilege=isolated is a project-level control intended to mandate that all containers use isolated UID/GID mappings via security.idmap.isolated, preventing privilege escalation out of container namespaces. The flaw (CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization) is a logic gap in LXD's restriction enforcement: the check evaluates whether security.idmap.isolated is set to a disallowed value, but does not account for the key being entirely absent from the instance configuration. The affected product is cpe:2.3:a:canonical:lxd:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* - all versions per NVD CPE. The advisory is published by Canonical at GHSA-7vp9-3vmp-c5jm.

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Severity by source

Vendor (canonical) PRIMARY 4.3 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
vuln.today AI 4.3 MEDIUM

Bypass enables unauthorized privileged container state (I:L); no confidentiality or availability impact described; authenticated project member required (PR:L).

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE MEDIUM

Primary rating from Vendor (canonical).

CVSS VectorVendor: canonical

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Low

Lifecycle Timeline

1
Patch available
Aug 12, 2026 - 21:17 EUVD

DescriptionCVE.org

An authorization bypass vulnerability in LXD allows an authenticated attacker to bypass project-level container isolation restrictions. When a project is configured with restrictions on container privileges (such as enforcing restricted.containers.privilege=isolated), LXD fails to enforce the requirement if an instance configuration omits the security.idmap.isolated key. An attacker can exploit this flaw by creating or updating an instance without explicitly setting security.idmap.isolated, bypassing the target project's security constraints.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.2%
Top 88% exploitable
Prevalence
Medium
popular Linux container manager, concentrated in Ubuntu/Canonical ecosystem
Data Quality
8 sources
Confidence: High
EUVD NVD CVE.org EPSS Vulnrichment Vendor GitHub VulDB

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.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.2%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation
Poc
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

22
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +22
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.

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Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Moderate

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