CVE-2026-63622: Libvirt: swtpm privilege escalation via symlink following

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-08-10 · updated 2026-10-05
Weakness: CWE-59

Description

A flaw was found in libvirt. A local attacker, specifically a process running as the confined `swtpm` user, could exploit a symlink-following vulnerability in the `virFileChownFiles()` function. By planting a symbolic link within the `swtpm` state directory, the attacker could trick the root-level libvirt daemon into changing the ownership of an arbitrary file to the `swtpm` user. This allows for privilege escalation from the `swtpm` sandbox to root-level file ownership control.

Affected products

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10: all versions — fixed in 0:11.10.0-12.9.el10_2
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support: all versions — fixed in 0:10.10.0-8.11.el10_0
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Extended Lifecycle Support: all versions — fixed in 0:4.5.0-36.el7_9.7
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8: all versions
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support: all versions — fixed in 8040020260916092751.522a0ee4
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On: all versions — fixed in 8040020260916092751.522a0ee4
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support: all versions — fixed in 8060020260910092451.ad008a3a
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On: all versions — fixed in 8060020260910092451.ad008a3a
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Telecommunications Update Service: all versions — fixed in 8080020260910092120.63b34585
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Update Services for SAP Solutions: all versions — fixed in 8080020260910092120.63b34585
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9: all versions — fixed in 0:11.10.0-12.7.el9_8
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Update Services for SAP Solutions: all versions — fixed in 0:9.0.0-10.16.el9_2
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 Update Services for SAP Solutions: all versions — fixed in 0:10.0.0-6.23.el9_4
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.6 Extended Update Support: all versions — fixed in 0:10.10.0-7.18.el9_6

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 0:11.10.0-12.9.el10_2; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support 0:10.10.0-8.11.el10_0; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Extended Lifecycle Support 0:4.5.0-36.el7_9.7; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support 8040020260916092751.522a0ee4; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On 8040020260916092751.522a0ee4; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support 8060020260910092451.ad008a3a; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On 8060020260910092451.ad008a3a; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Telecommunications Update Service 8080020260910092120.63b34585; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Update Services for SAP Solutions 8080020260910092120.63b34585; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 0:11.10.0-12.7.el9_8; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Update Services for SAP Solutions 0:9.0.0-10.16.el9_2; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 Update Services for SAP Solutions 0:10.0.0-6.23.el9_4. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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