CVE-2026-40197

Incus nil-pointer dereference in custom volume import allows denial of service

MEDIUM
6.5
CVSS Score
Published: May 6, 2026 at 08:36 PM UTC
Updated: October 26, 2026 at 07:10 PM UTC
2 products affected across 2 vendorsIncusIncus

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Severity
MEDIUM6.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.4%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

Incus is a system container and virtual machine manager. In versions before 7.0.0, missing validation logic in the storage volume import logic allows an authenticated user with access to the storage volume feature to cause the Incus daemon to crash. The custom volume backup import subsystem contains a nil-pointer dereference vulnerability during import operations. In the snapshot import loop, the daemon iterates over entries from `srcBackup.Config.VolumeSnapshots` and assumes that each slice element is initialized, then dereferences fields such as `Name`, `Config`, `Description`, `CreatedAt`, and `ExpiresAt` without first validating the element itself. Because the yaml unmarshaler accepts explicit null array elements from an attacker-controlled index.yaml and converts them into nil pointers inside the slice, an attacker can supply a backup archive containing a null entry in the volume_snapshots array. This causes a nil-pointer dereference during custom volume import and terminates the daemon, resulting in denial of service on the affected node. Repeated use of this issue can be used to keep Incus offline, causing a denial of service. This issue is fixed in version 7.0.0.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 7.0.0
Affected range stops below 7.0.0, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

References (1)

x_refsource_CONFIRMExploitVendor Advisory
Source: cverecord
https://github.com/lxc/incus/security/advisories/GHSA-r7w7-mmxr-47r9

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusANALYZED
CWE
CWE-476

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