CVE-2026-49238Public exploit

VM escape via unnormalized SFTP paths

Published May 28, 2026 · Updated May 28, 2026

Path traversal in Canonical Multipass before 1.16.3 allows guest OS users with root access to read arbitrary host files via SFTP mounts. Host-side sshfs_server validate_path compares raw path prefixes without separator checks or dot-dot normalization before opening the resolved path as root. Exploitation requires root inside a guest and an existing host-directory mount; the published proof of concept was confirmed only on macOS.

CVSS severity8.4
High
EPSS probability0.51%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Path traversal in Canonical Multipass before 1.16.3 allows guest OS users with root access to read arbitrary host files via SFTP mounts. Host-side sshfs_server validate_path compares raw path prefixes without separator checks or dot-dot normalization before opening the resolved path as root. Exploitation requires root inside a guest and an existing host-directory mount; the published proof of concept was confirmed only on macOS.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-49238
Published
May 28, 2026
Updated
May 28, 2026
Vendor
Canonical
Product
Multipass
Classifications
CWE-22, T1005
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 28, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 28, 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=0 <1.16.3

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

Canonical · Multipassversion=0 <1.16.3

Published CVSS scores

8.4Canonical Ltd.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A: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.

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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
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
T1005Data from Local System

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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