Description
A flaw was found in the QEMU Guest Agent (qga). A local unprivileged user can exploit a vulnerability in the guest-ssh-add-authorized-keys command handler by manipulating symbolic links. This can occur either through a deterministic directory-symlink bypass or a Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) file-symlink race. Successful exploitation allows the attacker to gain ownership of arbitrary root-owned files or directories, leading to root access. This vulnerability requires an external management layer (e.g., libvirt) to trigger the affected code path.
Published: 2026-07-20
Score: 7.3 High
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

Impact

The QEMU Guest Agent’s guest-ssh-add-authorized-keys routine contains a vulnerability where an user can manipulate symbolic links to influence file creation or modification. By controlling the add-authorized-keys operation, the attacker can redirect file writes, gaining ownership of arbitrary root‑owned files or directories. This enables the elevation of privileges within the guest operating system. The flaw is categorized as CWE‑61, signifying a classic path traversal or relative path manipulation weakness.

Affected Systems

The vulnerability targets the QEMU‑Guest‑Agent component used by Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, 6, 7, 8, 9, Red Hat Enterprise Linux for NVIDIA 26, and Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4. Any deployment of QEMU‑KVM that includes the guest-ssh-add-authorized-keys RPC without proper isolation may be affected, regardless of the specific minor version of the guest agent or host operating system.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score of 7.3 places this issue in the high‑severity range. The EPSS score of <1% indicates a very low but non‑zero exploitation probability, and the vulnerability is not included in the CISA KEV catalog. It is inferred that an attacker must have local access to the guest operating system in order to interact with the compromised function, making the attack vector local. Successful exploitation would enable the attacker to elevate privileges within the guest environment.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on July 30, 2026 at 19:28 UTC.

Remediation

Vendor Workaround

If the `guest-ssh-add-authorized-keys` command is not required, it can be disabled by adding it to the qemu-guest-agent block list (qemu-ga --block-rpcs). This prevents the vulnerable code path from being reached while preserving all other guest-agent functionality.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Upgrade the QEMU‑Guest‑Agent to a version that contains the fix for symlink handling in guest‑ssh‑add‑authorized‑keys.
  • If a patch cannot be applied immediately‑ssh‑add‑authorized‑keys RPC by adding it to the block list using `qemu-ga --block-rpcs`, which prevents the vulnerable code path while retaining other agent functionality.
  • Enforce strict filesystem permissions and/or SELinux/AppArmor policies to restrict creation or use of symbolic links within the agent’s operational directories, mitigating potential privilege escalation.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on July 30, 2026 at 19:28 UTC.

Tracking

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Advisories

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History

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 13:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description No description is available for this CVE. A flaw was found in the QEMU Guest Agent (qga). A local unprivileged user can exploit a vulnerability in the guest-ssh-add-authorized-keys command handler by manipulating symbolic links. This can occur either through a deterministic directory-symlink bypass or a Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) file-symlink race. Successful exploitation allows the attacker to gain ownership of arbitrary root-owned files or directories, leading to root access. This vulnerability requires an external management layer (e.g., libvirt) to trigger the affected code path.
Title qemu-kvm: qemu-guest-agent: Local privilege escalation via symlink attack in guest-ssh-add-authorized-keys Qemu-kvm: qemu-guest-agent: local privilege escalation via symlink attack in guest-ssh-add-authorized-keys
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat enterprise Linux Nvidia
Redhat openshift
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux_nvidia:
cpe:/a:redhat:openshift:4
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9
Vendors & Products Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat enterprise Linux Nvidia
Redhat openshift
References

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Qemu
Qemu qemu
Vendors & Products Qemu
Qemu qemu

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 12:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description No description is available for this CVE.
Title qemu-kvm: qemu-guest-agent: Local privilege escalation via symlink attack in guest-ssh-add-authorized-keys
Weaknesses CWE-61
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

 cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.3, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

threat_severity

Important

Subscriptions

Qemu Qemu
Redhat Enterprise Linux Enterprise Linux Nvidia Openshift
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: redhat

Published:

Updated: 2026-07-20T19:08:22.324Z

Reserved: 2026-06-12T12:44:56.002Z

Link: CVE-2026-12080

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-07-20T18:03:38.950Z

cve-icon NVD

No data.

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Important

Publid Date: 2026-07-09T10:57:00Z

Links: CVE-2026-12080 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-07-30T19:30:09Z

Weaknesses
  • CWE-61

    UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following