CVE-2026-57966 Spice-vdagent: path traversal in file transfer via unsanitized filename

Medium 4.4 Published 29 Jun 2026 Updated 29 Jun 2026

A malicious SPICE host can write arbitrary files to the guest OS due to unsanitized filenames in spice-vdagent, requiring a compromised host.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: An administrator
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: Available

What is CVE-2026-57966?

CVE-2026-57966 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux, published on 29 Jun 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

A path traversal vulnerability was found in spice-vdagent. This flaw allows a malicious or compromised SPICE host to write arbitrary files to any location on the guest operating system. This occurs because the filename provided by the SPICE host during file transfers is not properly sanitized before being used. An attacker could exploit this to write to sensitive locations with the privileges of the spice-vdagent process, typically the logged-in user. This issue requires the SPICE host to be untrusted or compromised for exploitation.

Weakness: CWE-22

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-57966?

It affects 2 products.

Products include Redhat Enterprise Linux, Spice-Space Spice-Vdagent.

How do I fix CVE-2026-57966?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.

Is CVE-2026-57966 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-57966 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Redhat Enterprise Linux vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as CLSA-2026-1786552586, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-57966, GHSA-gg66-359m-pmcc, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-57966.