CVE Intelligence
High Access control exploit reference

CVE-2026-9640 — LXD Snapshot Import Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in LXD from 6.0 before 6.9, 5.21.0 before 5.21.5, and 5.0.0 before 5.0.7 regarding the handling of project-restriction policies during snapshot restoration.. An authenticated project operator in a restricted multi-tenant environment can bypass policy restrictions by importing a maliciously crafted instance backup containing restricted configuration keys within a snapshot. When the snapshot is restored, these restricted keys are applied to the live instance without policy validation. Starting the modified instance grants the operator unauthorized host root access.

Published Jun 26, 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: canonical

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 0.6% (30-day exploitation probability)+7
  • Technical severity (high)+6
  • CISA SSVC: exploitation "poc"+5

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
0.63%
ahead of 49% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Canonical
Lxd
CVSS base
7.2
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
Proof of concept
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

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

  • Documented patch — github.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — github.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — github.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

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 (Canonical Lxd).
  2. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
  3. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (access control), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Canonical Lxd ≥ 4.12 and < 5.0.7≥ 5.21.0 and < 5.21.5≥ 6.0 and < 6.9 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Canonical Lxd ≥ 5.21.0 and < 5.21.5≥ 5.0.0 and < 5.0.7≥ 6.0 and < 6.9 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
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
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
7.2 CVSS 3.1 High 1.2 5.9 security@ubuntu.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.2 CVSS 3.1 High — — canonical via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: security@ubuntu.com)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-863 · Incorrect Authorization

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.63%

Detection

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

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
  • Audit administrative actions and access to resources outside each user’s normal pattern.
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSauthentication logsapplication logs

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · canonical/lxd
    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 · 7.2
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Analyzed
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVE published
    Jun 26, 2026 · canonical

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

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

References

4 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Canonical
every CVE for this vendor
Access control
same class
CWE-863
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-28385 SSRF via image import from URL allows internal network probing by authenticated users Jun 26, 2026
  • CVE-2026-9639 Authenticated Denial of Service via Malicious Backup Tarball in LXD Jun 26, 2026
  • CVE-2026-12411 Canonical LXD: Broken Access Control (IDOR) in devLXD Instance PATCH Handler Jun 26, 2026
  • CVE-2026-34179 Update of type field in restricted TLS certificate allows privilege escalation to cluster admin Apr 9, 2026
  • CVE-2026-34177 VM lowlevel restriction bypass via raw.apparmor and raw.qemu.conf Apr 9, 2026
  • CVE-2026-34178 Importing a crafted backup leads to project restriction bypass Apr 9, 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-2026-9640 is "LXD Snapshot Import Privilege Escalation Vulnerability", rated High. It affects Lxd (Canonical); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 7.2 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.63% 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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