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8.2
OpenStack Nova allows malicious data destruction on compute nodes
CVE-2026-24708
GHSA-m4f3-qp2w-gwh6
Summary
OpenStack Nova's Flat image backend can be tricked into destroying data on a compute node if a malicious QCOW header is written to a disk and then resized. This only affects compute nodes configured to use the Flat image backend. To mitigate, update to a fixed version of OpenStack Nova or configure the use_cow_images option to True if possible.
What to do
No fix is available yet. Check with your software vendor for updates.
Affected software
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fix available |
|---|---|---|---|
| – | nova | > 32.0.0.0rc1 , <= 32.1.0 | – |
| – | nova | > 31.0.0.0rc1 , <= 31.2.0 | – |
| – | nova | <= 30.2.1 | – |
Original title
OpenStack Nova calls qemu-img without format restrictions for resize
Original description
An issue was discovered in OpenStack Nova before 30.2.2, 31 before 31.2.1, and 32 before 32.1.1. By writing a malicious QCOW header to a root or ephemeral disk and then triggering a resize, a user may convince Nova's Flat image backend to call qemu-img without a format restriction, resulting in an unsafe image resize operation that could destroy data on the host system. Only compute nodes using the Flat image backend (usually configured with use_cow_images=False) are affected.
nvd CVSS3.1
8.2
Vulnerability type
CWE-669
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-24708
- https://github.com/openstack/nova/commit/3eba22ff09c81a61750fbb4882e5f1f01a20fdf...
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-m4f3-qp2w-gwh6
- https://bugs.launchpad.net/nova/+bug/2137507
- https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/02/17/7
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2026/02/msg00025.html
Published: 18 Feb 2026 · Updated: 11 Mar 2026 · First seen: 6 Mar 2026