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CVE-2026-49238

SFTP Server VM Escape in Canonical Multipass

8.4 High

An issue was discovered in Canonical Multipass before version 1.16.3. The host-side SFTP server component (sshfs_server), which executes with root privileges on the host, contains a path containment bypass vulnerability within its validate_path function in src/sshfs_mount/sftp_server.cpp. The function performs a plain string prefix comparison on requested paths without path separator validation or dot-dot (..) normalization. A local attacker with root privileges inside a guest virtual machine can bypass the FUSE layer by injecting raw SFTP frames (such as an SSH_FXP_OPEN request) directly into the sshfs_server process stdin/stdout pipes via procfs. By supplying a path containing directory traversal sequences that match the allowed mount prefix, the attacker can force the host-side root process to resolve the traversal and open files outside the designated mount boundary. This allows a guest-side user to read arbitrary files on the host filesystem, resulting in a virtual machine escape.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges needed
Low
User interaction
None

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

Exploit likelihood

0.51%Up 0.5 points since May 29, 2026
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 8.4

SFTP Server VM Escape in Canonical Multipass

An issue was discovered in Canonical Multipass before version 1.16.3. The host-side SFTP server component (sshfs_server), which executes with root privileges on the host, contains a path containment bypass vulnerability within its validate_path function in src/sshfs_mount/sftp_server.cpp. The function performs a plain string prefix comparison on requested paths without path separator validation or dot-dot (..) normalization. A local attacker with root privileges inside a guest virtual machine can bypass the FUSE layer by injecting raw SFTP frames (such as an SSH_FXP_OPEN request) directly into the sshfs_server process stdin/stdout pipes via procfs. By supplying a path containing directory traversal sequences that match the allowed mount prefix, the attacker can force the host-side root process to resolve the traversal and open files outside the designated mount boundary. This allows a guest-side user to read arbitrary files on the host filesystem, resulting in a virtual machine escape.

Record
CVE-2026-49238
CVSS 3.1
8.4 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
Weakness
CWE-22
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-32899 8.4

An issue was discovered in Canonical Multipass before version 1.16.3. The host-side SFTP server component (sshfs_server), which executes with root privileges on the host, contains a path containment bypass vulnerability within its validate_path function in src/sshfs_mount/sftp_server.cpp. The function performs a plain string prefix comparison on requested paths without path separator validation or dot-dot (..) normalization. A local attacker with root privileges inside a guest virtual machine can bypass the FUSE layer by injecting raw SFTP frames (such as an SSH_FXP_OPEN request) directly into the sshfs_server process stdin/stdout pipes via procfs. By supplying a path containing directory traversal sequences that match the allowed mount prefix, the attacker can force the host-side root process to resolve the traversal and open files outside the designated mount boundary. This allows a guest-side user to read arbitrary files on the host filesystem, resulting in a virtual machine escape.

Record
EUVD-2026-32899
CVSS 3.1
8.4 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
Updated
2026-11-02
NVD 8.4

An issue was discovered in Canonical Multipass before version 1.16.3. The host-side SFTP server component (sshfs_server), which executes with root privileges on the host, contains a path containment bypass vulnerability within its validate_path function in src/sshfs_mount/sftp_server.cpp. The function performs a plain string prefix comparison on requested paths without path separator validation or dot-dot (..) normalization. A local attacker with root privileges inside a guest virtual machine can bypass the FUSE layer by injecting raw SFTP frames (such as an SSH_FXP_OPEN request) directly into the sshfs_server process stdin/stdout pipes via procfs. By supplying a path containing directory traversal sequences that match the allowed mount prefix, the attacker can force the host-side root process to resolve the traversal and open files outside the designated mount boundary. This allows a guest-side user to read arbitrary files on the host filesystem, resulting in a virtual machine escape.

Record
CVE-2026-49238
CVSS 3.1
8.4 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
Weakness
CWE-22
Updated
2026-11-02
OSV 8.4

SFTP Server VM Escape in Canonical Multipass

An issue was discovered in Canonical Multipass before version 1.16.3. The host-side SFTP server component (sshfs_server), which executes with root privileges on the host, contains a path containment bypass vulnerability within its validate_path function in src/sshfs_mount/sftp_server.cpp. The function performs a plain string prefix comparison on requested paths without path separator validation or dot-dot (..) normalization. A local attacker with root privileges inside a guest virtual machine can bypass the FUSE layer by injecting raw SFTP frames (such as an SSH_FXP_OPEN request) directly into the sshfs_server process stdin/stdout pipes via procfs. By supplying a path containing directory traversal sequences that match the allowed mount prefix, the attacker can force the host-side root process to resolve the traversal and open files outside the designated mount boundary. This allows a guest-side user to read arbitrary files on the host filesystem, resulting in a virtual machine escape.

Record
CVE-2026-49238
CVSS 3.1
8.4 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
Weakness
CWE-22
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
aliases, publishedEUVD
first indexedCVE List, NVD, OSV

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2026-49238 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.4) in Canonical Multipass, published May 28, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.51%, the 43rd percentile. No source names a fixed version.

References

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