LXD: VM lowlevel restriction bypass via raw.apparmor and raw.qemu.conf

Exploitation

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

CVSS

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

EPSS

• CVE-2026-34177: 0.36% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 30.18 (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.

Summary The isVMLowLevelOptionForbidden function in lxd/project/limits/permissions.go is missing raw.apparmor and raw.qemu.conf from its hardcoded forbidden list. A user with canedit permission on a VM instance in a restricted project can combine these two omissions to bridge the LXD unix socket into the guest VM and gain full cluster administrator access. This bypasses the restricted.virtual-machines.lowlevel=block project restriction, which is the security control specifically designed to prevent raw config injection. Details Affected code The enforcement point for VM lowlevel restrictions is isVMLowLevelOptionForbidden at lxd/project/limits/permissions.go:924-926: This list is missing two security-critical config keys: - raw.apparmor -- allows injecting arbitrary AppArmor rules into the QEMU process confinement profile - raw.qemu.conf -- allows injecting arbitrary sections into the QEMU configuration file The container equivalent (isContainerLowLevelOptionForbidden at line 916)…

Published by the source

11 Aug 2026, 23:21 UTC

Last modified by the source

11 Aug 2026, 23:45 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 15:19 UTC

1. Revision 2 · amended · 26 Oct 2026

   Amended from ghsa record GHSA-fm2x-c5qw-4h6f

2. Revision 1 · created · 24 Oct 2026

   Published from osv record GO-2026-5368

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-34177

Advisory: LXD: VM lowlevel restriction bypass via raw.apparmor and raw.qemu.conf
IDs: CVE-2026-34177, GHSA-fm2x-c5qw-4h6f
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-34177 (revision 2, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 15:19 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Critical (CVSS 9.1)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor response not established. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Go github.com/canonical/lxd: affected >= 0.0.0-20210305023314-538ac3df036e, <= 0.0.0-20260226085519-736f34afb267

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

## Supported action
No complete vendor fix is recorded. Follow the primary source's mitigation guidance and check this record again before closing anything.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on github.com/canonical/lxd.
- 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://osv.dev/vulnerability/GO-2026-5368 (OSV record GO-2026-5368 lists affected ranges: Go github.com/canonical/lxd >=0.0.0-20210305023314-538ac3df036e)
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-fm2x-c5qw-4h6f (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-fm2x-c5qw-4h6f lists affected ranges: Go github.com/canonical/lxd >=0.0.0-20210305023314-538ac3df036e <=0.0.0-20260226085519-736f34afb267)

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