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.
Problem Types
| Type | CWE ID | Description |
|---|
| CWE | CWE-61 | UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following |
Type: CWE
Description: UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following
Metrics
| Version | Base score | Base severity | Vector |
|---|
| 3.1 | 7.3 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:H |
Version: 3.1
Base score: 7.3
Base severity: HIGH
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:H
Metrics Other Info
Red Hat severity rating
namespace:
https://access.redhat.com/security/updates/classification/
Timeline
| Event | Date |
|---|
| Reported to Red Hat. | 2026-06-24 13:52:04 |
| Made public. | 2026-06-24 00:00:00 |
Event: Reported to Red Hat.
Date: 2026-06-24 13:52:04
Event: Made public.
Date: 2026-06-24 00:00:00