---
title: "CVE-2026-7374: KubeVirt has a Link Following vulnerability"
url: https://erroneo.us/security/cve/CVE-2026-7374/
description: "CVE-2026-7374 (kubevirt.io/kubevirt (Go)): A flaw was found in KubeVirt's virt-handler component. This vulnerability allows an authenticated OpenShift user…"
type: vulnerability-record
section: "Security Digest"
date_published: 2026-05-26
date_modified: 2026-09-10
publisher: erroneo.us
author: erroneo.us Security Desk
cve: "CVE-2026-7374"
kev: false
cvss: 9.9
epss: 0.00829
license: All rights reserved. Quote with attribution and a link.
---

# CVE-2026-7374: KubeVirt has a Link Following vulnerability

**Signal:** Critical, preconditions apply. Severe if exploited, but exploitation needs conditions that may not apply to you. (Computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS; not an editorial verdict.)

## Should you act?

- 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.

## Affected packages

- Go `kubevirt.io/kubevirt` >= 1.8.0-alpha.0, < 1.8.3 → fixed: 1.8.3
- Go `kubevirt.io/kubevirt` >= 1.7.0-alpha.0, < 1.7.4 → fixed: 1.7.4
- Go `kubevirt.io/kubevirt` < 1.6.6 → fixed: 1.6.6

## Affected products (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 advisory
- Red Hat Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.13: see advisory
- Red Hat Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.14: see advisory
- Red Hat Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.15: see advisory
- Red Hat Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.16: see advisory
- Red Hat Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.17: see advisory
- Red Hat Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.18: see advisory
- Red Hat Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.19: see advisory
- Red Hat Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.20: see advisory

## Severity

- redhat CVSS 3.1: 9.9 `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`
- redhat-SADP CVSS 3.1: 9.9 `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`
- GitHub CVSS 3.1: 9.9 `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`

## Exploitation

- 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.

## Sources

- [RHSA-2026:20720](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:20720)
- [RHSA-2026:20736](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:20736)
- [RHSA-2026:20763](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:20763)
- [RHSA-2026:20767](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:20767)
- [RHSA-2026:20782](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:20782)
- [RHSA-2026:20825](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:20825)
- [RHSA-2026:20866](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:20866)
- [RHSA-2026:20886](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:20886)
- [RHSA-2026:20890](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:20890)
- [RHSA-2026:20975](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:20975)
- [GitHub Advisory GHSA-7jcp-v9w4-wjmg](https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-7jcp-v9w4-wjmg)
- [CVE.org record CVE-2026-7374](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-7374)
- [NVD entry CVE-2026-7374](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-7374)
- [access.redhat.com](https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-7374)
- [RHBZ#2463728](https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2463728)
- [security.access.redhat.com](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-7374.json)
- [github.com](https://github.com/kubevirt/kubevirt/pull/17916)
- [github.com](https://github.com/kubevirt/kubevirt/commit/011eef8129e2c21e0ea496f283ee1676009bc757)

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Source page: https://erroneo.us/security/cve/CVE-2026-7374/ · Security Digest: https://erroneo.us/security/ · More: https://erroneo.us/llms.txt