Security Digest · Vulnerability record
CVE-2026-7374: KubeVirt has a Link Following vulnerability
A flaw was found in KubeVirt's virt-handler component.
CVSS 9.9 Critical EPSS 0.8% · p57
Should you act?
Critical, preconditions apply
Severe if exploited, but exploitation needs conditions that may not apply to you. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.
- No confirmed exploitation. It is not in CISA’s KEV catalog and CISA’s SSVC assessment records no known exploitation. That can change quickly after a public write-up; re-check if you are affected.
- EPSS 0.8%, percentile 57: FIRST’s model estimates a 0.8% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 57% of all scored CVEs (moderate). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
- Needs an account (low (any account)). Exposure depends on who can log in.
- Only applies if your dependency tree includes
kubevirt.io/kubevirt(Go) >= 1.8.0-alpha.0, < 1.8.3, fixed in 1.8.3;kubevirt.io/kubevirt(Go) >= 1.7.0-alpha.0, < 1.7.4, fixed in 1.7.4;kubevirt.io/kubevirt(Go) < 1.6.6, fixed in 1.6.6. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.
What it is
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.
From the GitHub advisory
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.
Weakness type: CWE-59.
Product: kubevirt.io/kubevirt (Go) · Assigned by: redhat · Published: 2026-05-26
Affected and fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable | First fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go | kubevirt.io/kubevirt | >= 1.8.0-alpha.0, < 1.8.3 | 1.8.3 |
| Go | kubevirt.io/kubevirt | >= 1.7.0-alpha.0, < 1.7.4 | 1.7.4 |
| Go | kubevirt.io/kubevirt | < 1.6.6 | 1.6.6 |
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions (per CVE record) |
|---|---|---|
| kubevirt | < 1.6.6, 1.7.0 < 1.7.4, 1.8.0 < 1.8.3 | |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.12 | see vendor advisory |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.13 | see vendor advisory |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.14 | see vendor advisory |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.15 | see vendor advisory |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.16 | see vendor advisory |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.17 | see vendor advisory |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.18 | see vendor advisory |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.19 | see vendor advisory |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.20 | see vendor advisory |
Severity scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| redhat | 3.1 | 9.9 Critical | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| redhat-SADP | 3.1 | 9.9 Critical | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| GitHub | 3.1 | 9.9 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H |
- Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
- Attack complexity: low
- Privileges required: low (any account)
- User interaction: none
- Scope: changed (can affect other components)
CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.
Exploitation and urgency
- CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
- CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation none, automatable no, technical impact total.
- FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 0.83% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 57.
Timeline
- — CVE record published by redhat
- — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-7jcp-v9w4-wjmg published (critical)
- — CVE record last updated
Sources and references
Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.
Vendor and project advisories, patches
- RHSA-2026:20720 access.redhat.com
- RHSA-2026:20736 access.redhat.com
- RHSA-2026:20763 access.redhat.com
- RHSA-2026:20767 access.redhat.com
- RHSA-2026:20782 access.redhat.com
- RHSA-2026:20825 access.redhat.com
- RHSA-2026:20866 access.redhat.com
- RHSA-2026:20886 access.redhat.com
- RHSA-2026:20890 access.redhat.com
- RHSA-2026:20975 access.redhat.com
Vulnerability records
- GitHub Advisory GHSA-7jcp-v9w4-wjmg github.com
- CVE.org record CVE-2026-7374 cve.org
- NVD entry CVE-2026-7374 nvd.nist.gov
Other references from the CVE record and advisory
- access.redhat.com access.redhat.com
- RHBZ#2463728 bugzilla.redhat.com
- security.access.redhat.com security.access.redhat.com
- github.com github.com
- github.com github.com