CVE Intelligence
High

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 Jun 24, 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: redhat

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 0.3% (30-day exploitation probability)+3
  • Technical severity (high)+6

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
0.31%
ahead of 22% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Kubevirt
Kubevirt and 12 more
CVSS base
7.3
High · 2 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
None
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Partial
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Kubevirt Kubevirt, Red Hat Openshift Virtualization, Red Hat Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.12…).
  2. Apply the documented mitigations until a definitive fix is available.
  3. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Kubevirt Kubevirt versions not specified by the source Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Red Hat Openshift Virtualization ≥ 4 and ≤ 4.22.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Red Hat Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.12 versions not specified by the source Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Red Hat Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.13 versions not specified by the source Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Red Hat Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.14 versions not specified by the source Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Red Hat Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.15 versions not specified by the source Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Red Hat Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.16 versions not specified by the source Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Red Hat Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.17 versions not specified by the source Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Red Hat Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.18 versions not specified by the source Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Red Hat Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.19 versions not specified by the source Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Red Hat Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.20 versions not specified by the source Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Red Hat Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.21 versions not specified by the source Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Red Hat Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.22 versions not specified by the source Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
7.3 CVSS 3.1 High 2.0 4.7 secalert@redhat.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.3 CVSS 3.1 High — — redhat via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:H (score shown at the top: secalert@redhat.com)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-61

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.31%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
endpoint telemetry (EDR)

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · red hat/red hat container native virtualization 4.12, red hat/red hat container native virtualization 4.13, red hat/red
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 7.3
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Modified
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVE published
    Jun 24, 2026 · redhat

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

13 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Kubevirt
every CVE for this vendor
CWE-61
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-13434 Virt-controller-rhel9: kubevirt: kubevirt: multus default-network annotation injection via unvalidated tenant networkname when externalnetresourceinjection is enabled Jun 26, 2026
  • CVE-2026-13218 Kubevirt: kubevirt: symlink following in writetocachedfile allows host file overwrite from virt-launcher Jun 25, 2026
  • CVE-2026-13322 Kubevirt: virt-handler-rhel9: kubevirt: unbounded virtio-serial readline in virt-handler causes oom denial of service Jun 25, 2026
  • CVE-2026-13318 Virt-api-rhel9: kubevirt: kubevirt: ssrf in virt-api port-forward via unvalidated guest-agent-reported ip Jun 25, 2026
  • CVE-2026-13208 Kubevirt: virt-handler-rhel9: kubevirt: virt-handler notify server trusts vmi identity from unauthenticated grpc request body Jun 24, 2026
  • CVE-2026-44495 Axios: Credential Theft and Response Hijacking via Prototype Pollution Gadget in Config Merge Jun 11, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-13201 is "Kubevirt: virt-handler-rhel9: kubevirt: safepath symlink following in virt-handler enables notify socket hijacking and node-level vm disruption", rated High. It affects Kubevirt (Kubevirt); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 7.3 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.31% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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