CVE Tools
Sign in

CVE-2026-12080

Qemu-kvm: qemu-guest-agent: local privilege escalation via symlink attack in guest-ssh-add-authorized-keys

Published: Jul 20, 2026Updated: Jul 21, 2026 Sources: CVE List NVDCWE-61
7.3HIGH
NVD MITRE
EPSS Score
0.1%
Top 96.3%
CISA KEV
Not in KEV
Exploits
No Known Exploits
Remediation
Workaround Only
Self-Check
Not available

Description

A flaw was found in the QEMU Guest Agent (qga). A local unprivileged user can exploit a vulnerability in the guest-ssh-add-authorized-keys command handler by manipulating symbolic links. This can occur either through a deterministic directory-symlink bypass or a Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) file-symlink race. Successful exploitation allows the attacker to gain ownership of arbitrary root-owned files or directories, leading to root access. This vulnerability requires an external management layer (e.g., libvirt) to trigger the affected code path.

No summary for this CVE yet.

CVSS Vector Breakdown

AV:LAC:LPR:LUI:RS:UC:HI:HA:H
Exploitability
AV:LAttack Vector
Local
AC:LAttack Complexity
Low
PR:LPrivileges Required
Low
UI:RUser Interaction
Required
Scope
S:UScope
Unchanged
Impact
C:HConfidentiality
High
I:HIntegrity
High
A:HAvailability
High
Open in CVSS calculator →

Weaknesses

CWE-61

Affected Products

Red Hat
commercial·US
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10On-premOS
Operating Systems / linux-distro
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for NVIDIA 26On-premOS
Operating Systems / linux-distro
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4SaaSSaaS Service
Cloud & SaaS / container-orchestration
and 4 more affected products View all →

Exploitability

Workaround Available
Is your org exposed to CVE-2026-12080?We can run the check for you — a free external exposure review, no install. Check my exposure

References

https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-12080
access.redhat.com
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2499603
bugzilla.redhat.com
https://gitlab.com/qemu-project/qemu/-/work_items/3929
gitlab.com

Unlock Complete Vulnerability Intelligence

Get the full picture for CVE-2026-12080 and every CVE in our database. Create a free account — no credit card required.

Create Free Account
Plain-language analysis
Impact assessment and exploitation scenario in plain English
Attack graph visualization
Interactive attack path and kill chain mapping
Exploit details & PoC links
ExploitDB, Metasploit, GitHub PoCs with direct links
Nuclei scanner templates
Ready-to-use vulnerability scanner templates
Full remediation guide
Patch instructions, workarounds, and compliance impact
Interactive AI chat
Ask questions about this vulnerability in natural language
Related vulnerabilities
Semantically similar CVEs and attack patterns
REST API & MCP access
Integrate vulnerability data into your workflows