CVE-2026-63125 Incus vulnerable to root RCE via image backup.yaml symlink
An unprivileged user can execute arbitrary code as root by crafting an image with a symlinked backup.yaml file, affecting Incus administrators.
- 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-2026-63125?
CVE-2026-63125 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 7.3.0, an unprivileged, project-confined Incus user (a non-admin TLS/RBAC identity with `can_create_images` and `can_create_instances`) can execute arbitrary code as root on the host. A crafted image ships `backup.yaml` as a symlink to a host file. When the root daemon writes the instance's backup file, it follows the symlink. Version 7.3.0 patches the issue.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-63125?
How do I fix CVE-2026-63125?
Upgrade to a fixed version.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2026-63125 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-63125 exists.
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2026-63125, GHSA-6rqx-22hc-qm36, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-63125.