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KubevirtApplication

CVE-2026-13208

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 4.22.0 or later.
See remediation →
67/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click 8 weeks old

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A flaw was found in KubeVirt's virt-handler domain notify server. The gRPC handlers for HandleDomainEvent and HandleK8SEvent derive the VMI identity (namespace/name) solely from the request body without validating it against the connection's origin. Each virt-launcher pod connects through a per-VMI pipe socket, but no identity tag is propagated from the pipe path to the server handlers. This allows a compromised virt-launcher process to send forged domain lifecycle events for any other VMI scheduled on the same node, causing virt-handler to erroneously update that VMI's state and disrupt its lifecycle management.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

In KubeVirt's virt-handler, the gRPC handlers HandleDomainEvent and HandleK8SEvent derive VMI identity (namespace/name) solely from the request body without validating it against the connection origin. Each virt-launcher pod connects via a per-VMI pipe socket, but no identity tag propagates from the pipe path to the server. A compromised virt-launcher can forge domain lifecycle events for any other VMI on the same node, causing virt-handler to erroneously update that VMI's state.

MitigationImplement origin validation in virt-handler gRPC handlers to verify that the claimed VMI identity matches the authenticated connection origin (e.g., validate against pipe socket path metadata or add mutual TLS authentication between virt-launcher and virt-handler).

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
KubevirtApplication
Affected:all versions
Openshift VirtualizationApplication
Affected:>= 4, <= 4.22.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm virt-handler is deployed
    Run 'kubectl get pods -n kubevirt -l app=virt-handler' or check for virt-handler daemonset/deployment in the kubevirt namespace
    Affected if virt-handler pods are running and HandleDomainEvent/HandleK8SEvent gRPC handlers are exposed
  2. Identify virt-launcher to virt-handler socket configuration
    Check the socket path pattern used for gRPC communication, typically in /var/run/kubevirt-private/ or similar directories on node filesystems
    Affected if virt-launcher pods connect via pipe sockets without authenticated origin metadata
  3. Check for origin validation in gRPC handlers
    Inspect virt-handler configuration or code for validation logic that verifies the claimed VMI namespace/name matches the authenticated connection origin (socket path metadata or client certificate)
    Affected if No origin validation exists between the connection source and the claimed VMI identity in request body
  4. Determine if multiple VMIs share the same node
    Run 'kubectl get vmi -o jsonpath={.items[*]} | jq -r '.[] | .metadata.name + " " + .metadata.namespace + " " + .status.nodeName'' to list VMI placements
    Affected if Multiple VMIs from different namespaces are scheduled on the same node, enabling cross-VMI event forgery
  5. Check for mutual TLS between virt-launcher and virt-handler
    Examine virt-handler gRPC server configuration for mTLS or certificate-based authentication of incoming connections from virt-launcher pods
    Affected if mTLS is not enforced and connections are accepted from any virt-launcher pod on the node

The environment is affected if virt-handler is running with gRPC handlers that accept VMI identity from the request body without validating against the authenticated connection origin, especially when multiple VMIs exist on the same node.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 4.22.0
Interim mitigation

Implement origin validation in virt-handler gRPC handlers to verify that the claimed VMI identity matches the authenticated connection origin (e.g., validate against pipe socket path metadata or add mutual TLS authentication between virt-launcher and virt-handler).

Fix this in Kubevirt Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation24.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
56.0 hours of engineering $9,760
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-13208 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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