CVE-2026-66897Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Host root code execution via template path traversal

Published Aug 24, 2026 · Updated Aug 25, 2026

Path traversal in affected Canonical LXD releases allows remote authenticated users to overwrite arbitrary host files as root. Template processing checks a metadata.yaml target with a confined os.Root but passes an unconfined joined string containing surviving traversal elements to os.Create. The attacker needs can_edit on one container or must launch a crafted image; no non-default configuration is required, and host-root code execution follows.

CVSS severity9.9
Critical
EPSS probability0.67%
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 affected Canonical LXD releases allows remote authenticated users to overwrite arbitrary host files as root. Template processing checks a metadata.yaml target with a confined os.Root but passes an unconfined joined string containing surviving traversal elements to os.Create. The attacker needs can_edit on one container or must launch a crafted image; no non-default configuration is required, and host-root code execution follows.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-66897
Published
Aug 24, 2026
Updated
Aug 25, 2026
Vendor
Canonical
Product
LXD
Classifications
CWE-23, CWE-22, CAPEC-126, CAPEC-153, T1068
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 24, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 25, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=4.0.0 <4.0.13
  2. Affected versionversion=5.0.0 <5.0.9
  3. Affected versionversion=5.21.0 <5.21.7
  4. Affected versionversion=6.0 <6.10

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Canonical · LXDversion=4.0.0 <4.0.13; version=5.0.0 <5.0.9; version=5.21.0 <5.21.7; version=6.0 <6.10

Published CVSS scores

9.9CanonicalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

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)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-23Relative Path Traversal
CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CAPEC-126Path Traversal
CAPEC-153Input Data Manipulation
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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