CVE-2026-48750 Incus has an arbitrary file write on host via `exec-output` symlink in crafted image
Attackers can write arbitrary files to the host via symlink abuse in Incus, potentially leading to arbitrary command execution and privilege escalation.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-48750?
CVE-2026-48750 is a critical path traversal vulnerability in lxc incus, published on 21 Aug 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Incus is a system container and virtual machine manager. Prior to version 7.2.0, the `record-output` parameter of the `/instances/$name/exec` endpoint stores the output of the command in the `exec-output` directory of the instance. If `exec-output` is a symlink, file named `exec_UUID.stdout` and `exec_UUID.stderr` can be written to an arbitrary location where the `.stdout` file will contain arbitrary content. This behavior can be abused for arbitrary command execution. Version 7.2.0 contains a patch.
Weakness: CWE-73
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-48750?
5 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/lxc/incus/v7/cmd/incusd, github.com/lxc/incus and github.com/lxc/incus/v6.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
github.com/lxc/incus/v7/cmd/incusd Go | All versions | 7.2.0 |
github.com/lxc/incus/v7/cmd/incusd Go | All versions | 7.2.0 |
github.com/lxc/incus Go | All versions | None |
github.com/lxc/incus/v6 Go | All versions | None |
github.com/lxc/incus/v7 Go | All versions | 7.2.0 |
How do I fix CVE-2026-48750?
Upgrade github.com/lxc/incus/v7/cmd/incusd to 7.2.0 or later.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2026-48750 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-48750 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2026-48750, GHSA-73hr-m85f-64v9, GO-2026-5801, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-48750.