---
id: CVE-2026-9640
title: >-
  A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in LXD from 6.0 before 6.9, 5.21.0
  before 5.21.5, and 5.0.0 before 5.0.7 regarding the handling of
  project-restriction policies during snapshot restoration.
summary: >-
  A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in LXD from 6.0 before 6.9, 5.21.0
  before 5.21.5, and 5.0.0 before 5.0.7 regarding the handling of
  project-restriction policies during snapshot restoration.. An authenticated
  project operator i…
severity: high
cvss: 7.2
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-863
vendor: canonical
product: lxd
affected:
  - 'lxd >= 4.12, < 5.0.7'
  - 'lxd >= 5.21.0, < 5.21.5'
  - 'lxd >= 6.0, < 6.9'
patched:
  - lxd 6.9
published: '2026-06-26'
updated: '2026-07-02'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-9640'
references:
  - url: 'https://github.com/canonical/lxd/pull/18301'
    label: security@ubuntu.com
  - url: 'https://github.com/canonical/lxd/pull/18303'
    label: security@ubuntu.com
  - url: 'https://github.com/canonical/lxd/pull/18304'
    label: security@ubuntu.com
  - url: 'https://github.com/canonical/lxd/security/advisories/GHSA-ppq7-4492-5552'
    label: security@ubuntu.com
  - url: 'https://github.com/canonical/lxd/security/advisories/GHSA-ppq7-4492-5552'
    label: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
tags:
  - nvd
epss: 0.00632
epssPercentile: 0.4895
ingestedAt: '2026-07-03T13:02:28.086Z'
---

## Overview

A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in LXD from 6.0 before 6.9, 5.21.0 before 5.21.5, and 5.0.0 before 5.0.7 regarding the handling of project-restriction policies during snapshot restoration.. An authenticated project operator in a restricted multi-tenant environment can bypass policy restrictions by importing a maliciously crafted instance backup containing restricted configuration keys within a snapshot. When the snapshot is restored, these restricted keys are applied to the live instance without policy validation. Starting the modified instance grants the operator unauthorized host root access.

## Affected

- `lxd >= 4.12, < 5.0.7`
- `lxd >= 5.21.0, < 5.21.5`
- `lxd >= 6.0, < 6.9`

## Remediation

Upgrade past the affected range:

- `lxd 6.9`