Kubevirt: kubevirt: virt-controller nil-pointer dereference via malformed ephemeral volume
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Deferred Red Hat: fix deferred
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-476.
Summary
A flaw was found in KubeVirt. An authenticated user with permission to create Virtual Machine Instances (VMIs) can cause a Denial of Service (DoS) by submitting a virtual machine definition with an empty ephemeral volume. The virt-controller component fails to properly validate the volume configuration, leading to an unhandled exception and application crash during processing. Because the malformed definition persists in the cluster, the controller enters a continuous crash loop, disrupting virtual machine lifecycle operations across the entire environment.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-102623
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-x9f5-3f6m-x9jh
References
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Sources
- CVE-2026-102623 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-102623 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-x9f5-3f6m-x9jh · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-102623 · 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