CVE-2025-54288

Canonical LXD Source Container Identification Vulnerability via cmdline Spoofing in devLXD Server

In LXD's devLXD server, the source container identification process uses process cmdline (command line) information, allowing attackers to impersonate other containers by spoofing process names.

The core issue lies in the findContainerForPID function in lxd/api_devlxd.go.
This function identifies senders through two steps as shown below:

1. cmdline-based identification: Check while tracing back through parent processes, and if it starts with [lxc monitor], extract the project name and container name from that process name in the format projectName_containerName.
2. PID namespace-based identification: If not found in Step 1, check against all containers' PID namespaces.

https://github.com/canonical/lxd/blob/43d5189564d27f6161b430ed258c8b56603c2759/lxd/api_devlxd.go#L166-L276

Attackers can exploit Step 1 processing to impersonate arbitrary containers across projects by spoofing process names.

CVE-2025-54288 has a CVSS score of 4.1 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, high privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (5.21.4, 6.5, 0.0.0-20250827065555-0494f5d47e41); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

1. What is CVE-2025-54288? CVE-2025-54288 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in github.com/canonical/lxd (go), affecting versions >= 4.0, < 5.21.4. It is fixed in 5.21.4, 6.5, 0.0.0-20250827065555-0494f5d47e41.
2. How severe is CVE-2025-54288? CVE-2025-54288 has a CVSS score of 4.1 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which versions of github.com/canonical/lxd are affected by CVE-2025-54288? github.com/canonical/lxd (go) versions >= 4.0, < 5.21.4 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2025-54288? Yes. CVE-2025-54288 is fixed in 5.21.4, 6.5, 0.0.0-20250827065555-0494f5d47e41. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2025-54288 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-54288 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2025-54288 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2025-54288?
   • Upgrade github.com/canonical/lxd to 5.21.4 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/canonical/lxd to 6.5 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/canonical/lxd to 0.0.0-20250827065555-0494f5d47e41 or later