CVE-2019-16884
HIGHCVE-2019-16884 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-863 vulnerability in github.com/opencontainers/runc. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2019-16884 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Incorrect Authorization in runc
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2019-16884 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 365,017 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
github.com/opencontainers/runc🐹github.com/opencontainers/selinuxReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
runc through 1.0.0-rc8, as used in Docker through 19.03.2-ce and other products, allows AppArmor restriction bypass because libcontainer/rootfs_linux.go incorrectly checks mount targets, and thus a malicious Docker image can mount over a /proc directory.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/opencontainers/runc | all versions | 1.0.0-rc8.0.20190930145003-cad42f6e0932 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/opencontainers/selinux | all versions | 1.3.1-0.20190929122143-5215b1806f52 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/opencontainers/runc. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update github.com/opencontainers/runc to 1.0.0-rc8.0.20190930145003-cad42f6e0932 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2019-16884 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2019-16884 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2019-16884. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
The AppArmor security module is not supported by Red Hat, on the other hand the flaw also affects SELinux based distributions like Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2019-16884 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2019-16884 across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.