UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following Affecting kubevirt.io/kubevirt/pkg/virt-handler/isolation package, versions <1.9.0-rc.0
Threat Intelligence
The probability is the direct output of the EPSS model, and conveys an overall sense of the threat of exploitation in the wild. The percentile measures the EPSS probability relative to all known EPSS scores. Note: This data is updated daily, relying on the latest available EPSS model version. Check out the EPSS documentation for more details.
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Test your applications- Snyk IDSNYK-GOLANG-KUBEVIRTIOKUBEVIRTPKGVIRTHANDLERISOLATION-17817962
- published7 Jul 2026
- disclosed24 Jun 2026
- creditUnknown
Introduced: 24 Jun 2026
CVE-2026-13201 Â (opens in a new tab)How to fix?
Upgrade kubevirt.io/kubevirt/pkg/virt-handler/isolation to version 1.9.0-rc.0 or higher.
Overview
Affected versions of this package are vulnerable to UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following in the OpenAtNoFollow process. An attacker can cause unintended file ownership or permission changes on host files by placing a symlink in the virt-launcher filesystem, which is then followed via /proc/self/fd/N by downstream helpers. This allows modification of file metadata with hardcoded values, without access to file contents, and the attacker remains confined to the container. This is only exploitable if a namespace-level tenant has pod access and can place symlinks in the virt-launcher filesystem.
Workaround
This vulnerability can be mitigated by ensuring SELinux is in enforcing mode, utilizing RHCOS immutable filesystem layers, and reviewing RBAC policies to limit unnecessary pods/exec permissions on virt-launcher pods.