Incus out-of-bounds panic in snapshot metadata handling allows denial of service
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and GitHub. Impact type from CWE-129 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
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 backup restore subsystem contains an out-of-bounds panic vulnerability caused by an invalid bounds check when indexing snapshot metadata arrays, and the same flawed pattern also appears in the migration path. When iterating through physical snapshots provided in a backup archive, the loop uses the index to look up corresponding metadata in the parsed `Config.Snapshots` and `Config.VolumeSnapshots` slices. The guard condition `len(slice) >= i-1` is incorrect because it can still evaluate to true when the subsequent slice[i] access is out of bounds. An attacker can submit a backup archive that contains physical snapshot directories while supplying a tampered `index.yaml` with an empty or truncated snapshot metadata array, causing the daemon to index beyond the end of the metadata slice and crash. 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.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- Poc
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| lxc | incus | before 7.0.0 | 7.0.0 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | github.com/lxc/incus/v6/cmd/incusd (Go) | before 7.0.0 | 7.0.0 | Patch available | GHSA-4m88-wxj4-9qj6 |
- incus Vendorlxc Affected before 7.0.0 Fixed in 7.0.0 Patch available CNA
- github.com/lxc/incus/v6/cmd/incusd (Go) Vendor— Affected before 7.0.0 Fixed in 7.0.0 Patch available GHSA-4m88-wxj4-9qj6
Remediation
- Fix · CNA incus (lxc) Fixed in 7.0.0
- Fix · GHSA-4m88-wxj4-9qj6 github.com/lxc/incus/v6/cmd/incusd (Go) Fixed in 7.0.0 Advisory →
Vendor assessments
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-40251
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-4m88-wxj4-9qj6
References
More lxc Incus vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-19296 Incus container image templating arbitrary host file read and write CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-19295 Incus container environment configuration newline injection CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.7
- TI-2025-39899 Incus vulnerable to local privilege escalation through custom storage volumes CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.6
- TI-2026-29009 Incus nil-pointer dereference in storage bucket import allows denial of service CVSS 4.0HIGH 7.1
- TI-2026-26122 Incus vulnerable to denial of source through crafted bucket backup file CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.5
- TI-2026-25935 Incus does not verify combined fingerprint when downloading images from simplestreams servers CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 5.7
Sources
- CVE-2026-40251 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-40251 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-4m88-wxj4-9qj6 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-40251 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences