CVE-2026-41684: CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference in lxc incus
Incus is a system container and virtual machine manager. Prior to version 7.0.0, backup.GetInfo() trusts the inline backup/index.yaml config when present and only falls back to parsing the legacy backup/container/backup.yaml file if result.Config == nil. As a result, an archive can carry a valid inline config that passes the initial import preflight while also carrying a malformed legacy backup/container/backup.yaml file that is reparsed later from the restored file system. ParseConfigYamlFile() accepts YAML documents with no container section, and multiple downstream consumers then dereference. Container without checking for nil. Confirmed examples in the instance restore and import flow include backup.UpdateInstanceConfig() and internalImportFromBackup(). An authenticated user with permission to import instance backups may be able to crash the Incus daemon with a crafted backup archive whose inline backup/index.yaml is valid but whose extracted legacy backup.yaml omits container. The crash occurs in the restore path after archive extraction has begun. This issue has been patched in version 7.0.0.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
Incus versions before 7.0.0 trust the inline backup/index.yaml config during backup import but only parse the legacy backup/container/backup.yaml file if the inline config is nil. A crafted backup archive can contain a valid inline config and a malformed legacy backup.yaml missing the container section. The parsing function accepts YAML without a container section, leading to downstream code dereferencing a nil container pointer, causing a daemon crash. This occurs in the restore path after extraction starts, affecting functions like backup.UpdateInstanceConfig() and internalImportFromBackup(). The vulnerability is a NULL pointer dereference (CWE-476) exploitable by an authenticated user with import permissions. The issue is patched in Incus 7.0.0.
Potential Impact
An authenticated user with permission to import instance backups can cause a denial of service by crashing the Incus daemon during the restore process. There is no indication of confidentiality or integrity impact, only availability is affected. No known exploits are reported in the wild.
Mitigation Recommendations
This vulnerability is fixed in Incus version 7.0.0. Users should upgrade to version 7.0.0 or later to remediate the issue. Patch status is not explicitly confirmed beyond the version bump, so verify with vendor advisories for official fixes. Until patched, restrict import permissions to trusted users only to reduce risk.
CVE-2026-41684: CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference in lxc incus
Description
Incus is a system container and virtual machine manager. Prior to version 7.0.0, backup.GetInfo() trusts the inline backup/index.yaml config when present and only falls back to parsing the legacy backup/container/backup.yaml file if result.Config == nil. As a result, an archive can carry a valid inline config that passes the initial import preflight while also carrying a malformed legacy backup/container/backup.yaml file that is reparsed later from the restored file system. ParseConfigYamlFile() accepts YAML documents with no container section, and multiple downstream consumers then dereference. Container without checking for nil. Confirmed examples in the instance restore and import flow include backup.UpdateInstanceConfig() and internalImportFromBackup(). An authenticated user with permission to import instance backups may be able to crash the Incus daemon with a crafted backup archive whose inline backup/index.yaml is valid but whose extracted legacy backup.yaml omits container. The crash occurs in the restore path after archive extraction has begun. This issue has been patched in version 7.0.0.
CVSS v3.1
Score 6.5medium
Affected software
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Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
Incus versions before 7.0.0 trust the inline backup/index.yaml config during backup import but only parse the legacy backup/container/backup.yaml file if the inline config is nil. A crafted backup archive can contain a valid inline config and a malformed legacy backup.yaml missing the container section. The parsing function accepts YAML without a container section, leading to downstream code dereferencing a nil container pointer, causing a daemon crash. This occurs in the restore path after extraction starts, affecting functions like backup.UpdateInstanceConfig() and internalImportFromBackup(). The vulnerability is a NULL pointer dereference (CWE-476) exploitable by an authenticated user with import permissions. The issue is patched in Incus 7.0.0.
Potential Impact
An authenticated user with permission to import instance backups can cause a denial of service by crashing the Incus daemon during the restore process. There is no indication of confidentiality or integrity impact, only availability is affected. No known exploits are reported in the wild.
Mitigation Recommendations
This vulnerability is fixed in Incus version 7.0.0. Users should upgrade to version 7.0.0 or later to remediate the issue. Patch status is not explicitly confirmed beyond the version bump, so verify with vendor advisories for official fixes. Until patched, restrict import permissions to trusted users only to reduce risk.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- GitHub_M
- Date Reserved
- 2026-04-22T03:53:24.406Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 69fca382cbff5d8610fd58f9
Added to database: 05/07/2026, 14:36:50 UTC
Last enriched: 05/07/2026, 14:52:04 UTC
Last updated: 07/31/2026, 19:22:58 UTC
Views: 110
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