CVE-2026-71566 KubeVirt backend is not authenticated
Attackers can control other users' VMs and mount arbitrary images because KubeVirt ignores provided credentials, relying only on mounted KUBECONFIG.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-71566?
CVE-2026-71566 is a critical missing authorization vulnerability in openshift-metal3 fakefish, published on 17 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
FakeFish handles incoming credentials by passing them down to scripts. This works for real hardware because in the end it's up to the BMC to validate them. However, KubeVirt relies on a KUBECONFIG file mounted to the container and completely ignores the credentials. This allows any user of the cluster to control VMs of the user that created fakefish, power them on and off, and mount arbitrary CD images to them.
Weakness: CWE-306
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-71566?
How do I fix CVE-2026-71566?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-71566 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and check permissions on every request on the server, not only in the interface. More about Missing authorization.
Is CVE-2026-71566 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-71566 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-qpfr-jqjq-v83w.