CVE-2026-41326Public exploit

Guest file overwrite via unchecked CopyFile symlinks

Published Apr 24, 2026 · Updated Apr 24, 2026

Symlink following in Kata Containers 3.4.0 through 3.28.0 allows local users to overwrite files inside guest workload images. The CopyFile policy validates only a request's destination path, so one crafted request creates a shared-directory symlink into the guest image and a second follows it to replace a target file. Exposure requires upstream genpolicy rules intended to deny host access; deployments that do not rely on those rules are outside the advisory's stated impact.

CVSS severity8.2
High
EPSS probability0.35%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Symlink following in Kata Containers 3.4.0 through 3.28.0 allows local users to overwrite files inside guest workload images. The CopyFile policy validates only a request's destination path, so one crafted request creates a shared-directory symlink into the guest image and a second follows it to replace a target file. Exposure requires upstream genpolicy rules intended to deny host access; deployments that do not rely on those rules are outside the advisory's stated impact.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-41326
Published
Apr 24, 2026
Updated
Apr 24, 2026
Vendor
Kata Containers
Product
Kata Containers
Classifications
CWE-61, CWE-1220, T1574
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 24, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Apr 24, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=>= 3.4.0, < 3.29.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Kata Containers · Kata Containersversion=>= 3.4.0, < 3.29.0

Published CVSS scores

8.2NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N
8.8Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
8.2GitHub, Inc.CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:H/SI:N/SA:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-61UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following
CWE-1220Insufficient Granularity of Access Control
T1574Hijack Execution Flow

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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