CVE-2026-49238
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.
Does this matter?
High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.51%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.
Description
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.
- CVSS 3.1
- 8.4 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
- EPSS
- 0.51% probability · 43th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-22
- Affected
- canonical/multipass
- Source
- security@ubuntu.com
EPSS 0.5% since 26 October 2026; no change recorded yet. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.
References
- https://github.com/canonical/multipass/security/advisories/GHSA-rhp2-23c4-r34wExploit, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/canonical/multipass/security/advisories/GHSA-rhp2-23c4-r34wExploit, Third Party Advisory
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.