---
id: CVE-2026-63343
title: Incus is a system container and virtual machine manager
summary: >-
  Incus is a system container and virtual machine manager. Prior to version
  7.3.0, a malicious image containing a `metadata.yaml` symlink pointing to an
  arbitrary host path allows an authenticated Incus user to read or overwrite
  any file o…
severity: critical
cvss: 9.9
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-73
published: '2026-08-21'
updated: '2026-09-18'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-18T20:09:01.757'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-63343'
references:
  - url: 'https://github.com/lxc/incus/security/advisories/GHSA-fmjx-5j3g-997p'
    label: security-advisories@github.com
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-63343.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-63343'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-63343'
tags:
  - nvd
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
epss: 0.00479
epssPercentile: 0.38763
ingestedAt: '2026-09-18T20:51:25.654Z'
vendor: Red Hat
---

## Overview

Incus is a system container and virtual machine manager. Prior to version 7.3.0, a malicious image containing a `metadata.yaml` symlink pointing to an arbitrary host path allows an authenticated Incus user to read or overwrite any file on the host as root via the instance metadata API. The `exec-output` and `templates/` paths were patched in a prior release using `Lstat` rejection and `os.OpenRoot` confinement; `metadata.yaml` was not included in either patch and remains exploitable. Version 7.3.0 patches the issue.

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · updated 2026-09-24 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-63343.json)