CVE-2026-9640

LXD Snapshot Import Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

HIGH
7.2
CVSS Score
Published: June 26, 2026 at 03:50 PM UTC
Updated: October 25, 2026 at 05:10 PM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorLXD

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Severity
HIGH7.2
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.6%
SSVC
PoC

Description

A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in LXD from 6.0 before 6.9, 5.21.0 before 5.21.5, and 5.0.0 before 5.0.7 regarding the handling of project-restriction policies during snapshot restoration.. An authenticated project operator in a restricted multi-tenant environment can bypass policy restrictions by importing a maliciously crafted instance backup containing restricted configuration keys within a snapshot. When the snapshot is restored, these restricted keys are applied to the live instance without policy validation. Starting the modified instance grants the operator unauthorized host root access.

Affected

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

4.12 ≤ v < 5.0.75.21.0 ≤ v < 5.21.56.0 ≤ v < 6.95.0.05.21.06.0
Affected range stops below 5.0.7, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 5.21.5, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 6.9, 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 (4)

VDB EntryVendor AdvisoryExploit
Source: cverecord
https://github.com/canonical/lxd/security/advisories/GHSA-ppq7-4492-5552
PatchIssue Tracking
Source: cverecord
https://github.com/canonical/lxd/pull/18301
PatchIssue Tracking
Source: cverecord
https://github.com/canonical/lxd/pull/18303
PatchIssue Tracking
Source: cverecord
https://github.com/canonical/lxd/pull/18304

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCPoCNot automatableTotal impact

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

CVSS

7.2HIGHcanonical
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
HIGH
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusANALYZED
CWE
CWE-863

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