--- id: CVE-2026-13201 title: A flaw was found in KubeVirt's safepath package used by virt-handler summary: >- A flaw was found in KubeVirt's safepath package used by virt-handler. The OpenAtNoFollow function uses O_PATH|O_NOFOLLOW to obtain a file descriptor to a path leaf, but downstream operations resolve the path via /proc/self/fd/N using lin… severity: high cvss: 7.3 cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:H' cwe: - CWE-61 vendor: kubevirt product: kubevirt affected: - kubevirt - 'openshift_virtualization >= 4, <= 4.22.0' patched: - container_native_virtualization 4.13 - container_native_virtualization 4.14 - container_native_virtualization 4.15 - container_native_virtualization 4.16 - container_native_virtualization 4.17 - container_native_virtualization 4.18 - container_native_virtualization 4.19 - container_native_virtualization 4.20 - container_native_virtualization 4.21 - container_native_virtualization 4.22 published: '2026-06-24' updated: '2026-09-21' sourceUpdated: '2026-09-21T18:17:07.700' source: NVD sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-13201' references: - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:51031' label: secalert@redhat.com - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53655' label: secalert@redhat.com - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53671' label: secalert@redhat.com - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53684' label: secalert@redhat.com - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53721' label: secalert@redhat.com - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53728' label: secalert@redhat.com - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53763' label: secalert@redhat.com - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53797' label: secalert@redhat.com - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53826' label: secalert@redhat.com - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53838' label: secalert@redhat.com - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-13201' label: secalert@redhat.com - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2492203' label: secalert@redhat.com - url: >- https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-13201.json - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-13201' - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-13201' tags: - nvd - cve.org - csaf - vex - red-hat epss: 0.00222 epssPercentile: 0.13056 ssvc: exploitation: none automatable: 'no' technicalImpact: partial timestamp: '2026-06-25T23:04:34.331359Z' ingestedAt: '2026-07-06T18:45:21.293Z' --- ## Overview A flaw was found in KubeVirt's safepath package used by virt-handler. The OpenAtNoFollow function uses O_PATH|O_NOFOLLOW to obtain a file descriptor to a path leaf, but downstream operations resolve the path via /proc/self/fd/N using link-following syscalls. When the leaf is a symlink, the kernel dereferences it, defeating the intended no-follow protection. An attacker with access to a virt-launcher pod can exploit this to redirect virt-handler's IPC socket connections, including the notify socket used for VM domain lifecycle events. By hijacking this socket, the attacker can inject arbitrary domain events into virt-handler, causing it to take incorrect lifecycle actions, corrupt VM state in the Kubernetes API, or crash — resulting in sustained denial of VM management services for all virtual machines on the affected node. Additionally, the same symlink following flaw allows virt-handler to apply file ownership or permission changes to unintended host paths. ## Affected - `kubevirt` - `openshift_virtualization >= 4, <= 4.22.0` ## Remediation Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges. ## Vendor advisories - **RHSA-2026:53655** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.13 · released 2026-08-11 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53655) - **RHSA-2026:53671** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.14 · released 2026-08-11 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53671) - **RHSA-2026:53826** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.15 · released 2026-08-11 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53826) - **RHSA-2026:53721** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.16 · released 2026-08-11 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53721) - **RHSA-2026:53684** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.17 · released 2026-08-11 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53684) - **RHSA-2026:53838** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.18 · released 2026-08-11 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53838) - **RHSA-2026:53797** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.19 · released 2026-08-11 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53797) - **RHSA-2026:53763** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.20 · released 2026-08-11 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53763) - **RHSA-2026:53728** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.21 · released 2026-08-11 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53728) - **RHSA-2026:51031** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.22 · released 2026-08-06 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:51031) - **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · affected: Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization 4 · updated 2026-09-21 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-13201.json)