CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-13622NVD status: Awaiting Analysis

Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.12: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-13622 is a high-severity improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory vulnerability in Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.12 from Red Hat, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.2% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.12 you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Red HatRed Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.12Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.13Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.14Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.15Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.16Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.17Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.18Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.19Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.20Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.21Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.22Not specified in the recordNot stated

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
ChangedThe attack can reach beyond the vulnerable component into other systems.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (redhat.com).

Official description

A symlink following vulnerability was found in KubeVirt's virt-handler migration proxy. During live migration, virt-handler dials Unix sockets inside the target virt-launcher pod via /proc/<pid>/root/ paths using net.Dial() without symlink protection. These socket paths reside in qemu-owned directories writable by the virt-launcher user. An attacker with namespace edit and pods/exec permissions can replace a migration proxy socket with a symlink to the host CRI-O socket. Because virt-handler runs as root in the host mount namespace, absolute symlink targets resolve against the host filesystem, and the bidirectional io.Copy proxy relays attacker-controlled bytes to the container runtime, enabling full node compromise.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory

The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.
  • Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
  • Use an application firewall that can detect attacks against this weakness. It can be beneficial in cases in which the code cannot be fixed (because it is controlled by a third party), as an emergency prevention measure while more comprehensive software assurance measures are applied, or to provide defense in depth.

More Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory vulnerabilities (CWE-22)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.12

All Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.12 vulnerabilities

Recent Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory vulnerabilities

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