CVE-2026-13201 | Kubevirt: virt-handler-rhel9: kubevirt: safepath symlink following in virt-handler enables notify socket hijacking and node-level vm disruption

A flaw was found in KubeVirt's safepath package used by virt-handler. The OpenAtNoFollow function uses O_PATH|O_NOFOLLOW to obtain a file descriptor to a path leaf, but downstream operations resolve the path via /proc/self/fd/N using link-following syscalls. When the leaf is a symlink, the kernel dereferences it, defeating the intended no-follow protection. An attacker with access to a virt-launcher pod can exploit this to redirect virt-handler's IPC socket connections, including the notify socket used for VM domain lifecycle events. By hijacking this socket, the attacker can inject arbitrary domain events into virt-handler, causing it to take incorrect lifecycle actions, corrupt VM state in the Kubernetes API, or crash — resulting in sustained denial of VM management services for all virtual machines on the affected node. Additionally, the same symlink following flaw allows virt-handler to apply file ownership or permission changes to unintended host paths.

Published: 2026-06-24 Last update: 2026-06-25 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Awaiting Analysis，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2026-13201 is rated Low Risk (30/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.12%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-13201

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-25 — 0.12% —

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-13201

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.3 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.0 4.7 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-13201

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-13201

GHSA-rcfc-7m3g-h5xh · Severity: medium — A flaw was found in KubeVirt's safepath package. The OpenAtNoFollow function uses O_PATH...

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-13201

vendor priority summary link
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-13201
suse medium — https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-13201/

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-13201

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
No affected products in dataset.

References for CVE-2026-13201

cvelogic Threat Intelligence