In Lima, a malicious disk image could read a single file on the host filesystem as a qcow2/vmdk backing file

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

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

EPSS

• CVE-2023-32684: 0.27% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 18.95 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Note The official templates of Lima, and the well-known third party products (Colima, Rancher Desktop, and Finch) are unlikely to be affected by this issue. Impact A virtual machine instance with a malicious disk image could read a single file on the host filesystem, even when no filesystem is mounted from the host. To exploit this issue, the attacker has to embed the target file path (an absolute or a relative path from the instance directory) in a malicious disk image, as the qcow2 (or vmdk) backing file path string. As Lima refuses to run as the root, it is practically impossible for the attacker to read the entire host disk via /dev/rdiskN. Also, practically, the attacker cannot read at least the first 512 bytes (MBR) of the target file. Patches Patched in Lima v0.16.0, by prohibiting using a backing file path in the VM base image. Workarounds Do not use an untrusted disk image.

Published by the source

31 May 2023, 23:38 UTC

Last modified by the source

5 Nov 2023, 05:04 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 14:59 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-f7qw-jj9c-rpq9

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2023-32684

Advisory: In Lima, a malicious disk image could read a single file on the host filesystem as a qcow2/vmdk backing file
IDs: CVE-2023-32684, GHSA-f7qw-jj9c-rpq9
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2023-32684 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 14:59 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Low (CVSS 2.7)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: github.com/lima-vm/lima 0.16.0. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Go github.com/lima-vm/lima: affected < 0.16.0; fixed in 0.16.0

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Go github.com/lima-vm/lima: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on github.com/lima-vm/lima.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-f7qw-jj9c-rpq9 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-f7qw-jj9c-rpq9 lists affected ranges: Go github.com/lima-vm/lima >=0 <0.16.0)

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