KubeVirt virt-handler Symlink Hijack Allows Node/Cluster Takeover
CVE-2026-7374 Published on May 26, 2026
Kubevirt: kubevirt virt-handler: privilege escalation and node compromise via symlink following vulnerability
A flaw was found in KubeVirt's virt-handler component. This vulnerability allows an authenticated OpenShift user with edit permissions in a single namespace to exploit improper symlink validation when connecting to virtual machine console sockets. By replacing the console socket with a symlink to the host's container runtime (CRI-O) socket, an attacker can hijack virt-handler's privileged connection. This enables the attacker to access any Unix socket on the host, potentially leading to full control of the node and the entire cluster.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2026-7374 is exploitable with network access, and requires small amount of user privileges. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to be critical as this vulnerability has a high impact to the confidentiality, integrity and availability of this component.
Timeline
Reported to Red Hat.
Made public. 34 days later.
Weakness Type
What is an insecure temporary file Vulnerability?
The software attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.
CVE-2026-7374 has been classified to as an insecure temporary file vulnerability or weakness.
Products Associated with CVE-2026-7374
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