CVE-2026-33945: CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') in lxc incus
CVE-2026-33945 is a critical path traversal vulnerability in the Incus container and virtual machine manager prior to version 6. 23. 0. It allows an attacker with limited privileges to write arbitrary files as root outside the intended credentials directory by exploiting the way Incus parses systemd credential configuration keys. This can lead to privilege escalation and denial of service. The vulnerability is fixed in version 6. 23. 0.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
Incus versions before 6.23.0 contain a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) in the handling of systemd credential configuration keys for containers. The configuration syntax allows keys like `systemd.credential.XYZ` where XYZ can include periods and directory traversal sequences. An attacker can craft a key such as `systemd.credential.../../../../../../root/.bashrc` to cause Incus to write files outside the designated credentials directory with root privileges. While reading arbitrary files is not possible, writing arbitrary files as root enables privilege escalation and denial of service attacks. This issue is resolved in Incus version 6.23.0.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation allows an attacker with container configuration access to write arbitrary files on the host system as root, leading to full privilege escalation and potential denial of service. The vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 10.0, indicating critical severity with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Mitigation Recommendations
Upgrade Incus to version 6.23.0 or later, where this path traversal vulnerability is fixed. No other mitigations are indicated. Patch status is confirmed fixed in version 6.23.0.
CVE-2026-33945: CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') in lxc incus
Description
CVE-2026-33945 is a critical path traversal vulnerability in the Incus container and virtual machine manager prior to version 6. 23. 0. It allows an attacker with limited privileges to write arbitrary files as root outside the intended credentials directory by exploiting the way Incus parses systemd credential configuration keys. This can lead to privilege escalation and denial of service. The vulnerability is fixed in version 6. 23. 0.
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
Incus versions before 6.23.0 contain a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) in the handling of systemd credential configuration keys for containers. The configuration syntax allows keys like `systemd.credential.XYZ` where XYZ can include periods and directory traversal sequences. An attacker can craft a key such as `systemd.credential.../../../../../../root/.bashrc` to cause Incus to write files outside the designated credentials directory with root privileges. While reading arbitrary files is not possible, writing arbitrary files as root enables privilege escalation and denial of service attacks. This issue is resolved in Incus version 6.23.0.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation allows an attacker with container configuration access to write arbitrary files on the host system as root, leading to full privilege escalation and potential denial of service. The vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 10.0, indicating critical severity with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Mitigation Recommendations
Upgrade Incus to version 6.23.0 or later, where this path traversal vulnerability is fixed. No other mitigations are indicated. Patch status is confirmed fixed in version 6.23.0.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- GitHub_M
- Date Reserved
- 2026-03-24T19:50:52.105Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
Threat ID: 69c5c16a3c064ed76fe46d14
Added to database: 3/26/2026, 11:29:46 PM
Last enriched: 4/3/2026, 1:32:59 PM
Last updated: 5/11/2026, 2:07:12 AM
Views: 144
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