CVE-2026-23953

What it is

Incus is a system container and virtual machine manager. In versions 6.20.0 and below, a user with the ability to launch a container with a custom YAML configuration (e.g a member of the ‘incus’ group) can create an environment variable containing newlines, which can be used to add additional configuration items in the container’s lxc.conf due to newline injection. This can allow adding arbitrary lifecycle hooks, ultimately resulting in arbitrary command execution on the host. Exploiting this issue on IncusOS requires a slight modification of the payload to change to a different writable directory for the validation step (e.g /tmp). This can be confirmed with a second container with /tmp mounted from the host (A privileged action for validation only). A fix is planned for versions 6.0.6 and 6.21.0, but they have not been released at the time of publication.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited from the same network segment with a low-privilege account. High risk of data exposure, data tampering.

Exploit odds

0.5% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2026-01-22 22:16 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-06-17 10:22 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 0.5% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 8.7 HIGH (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2026-01-22 22:16 UTC

Last modified

2026-06-17 10:22 UTC

Exploit probability

0.5% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-93

Record status

Analyzed

Affected

• Linuxcontainers Incus ≤ 6.0.5
• Linuxcontainers Incus < 6.21.0

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 8.7

Attack vector

Adjacent network

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

Low

User interaction

None

Scope

Changed

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

None

Is it in your code?

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