CVE-2022-1227 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) CWE-281 vulnerability in github.com/containers/podman/v3. 1 public exploit or proof-of-concept reference is indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for github.com/containers/podman/v3 — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Podman publishes a malicious image to public registries
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
github.com/containers/podman/v3🐹github.com/containers/psgoReal-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
Podman is a tool for managing OCI containers and pods. A privilege escalation flaw was found in Podman. This flaw allows an attacker to publish a malicious image to a public registry. Once this image is downloaded by a potential victim, the vulnerability is triggered after a user runs the 'podman top' command. This action gives the attacker access to the host filesystem, leading to information disclosure or denial of service.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/containers/podman/v3 | all versions | 3.4go get github.com/containers/podman/v3@v3.4 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/containers/psgo | all versions | 1.7.2go get github.com/containers/psgo@v1.7.2 |
Affected Products
fedorafedoraprojectpodmanpodman_projectpsgopsgo_projectdeveloper toolsredhatenterprise linuxredhatenterprise linux eusredhatResearch 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/containers/podman/v3, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/containers/podman/v3 to 3.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-1227 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Close the privilege gap rather than the entry point: audit which accounts, roles and service identities can reach the affected operation, drop the component to the least privilege it actually needs, and review file and directory permissions created by earlier installs — a default left in place is what makes this reachable.
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.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Extras | podman-0:1.6.4-32.el7_9 | RHSA-2022:2190 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | container-tools:rhel8-8060020220401155929.2e213529 | RHSA-2022:1762 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | container-tools:3.0-8060020220419093427.3b538bd8 | RHSA-2022:2143 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Extended Update Support | container-tools:2.0-8020020220420173758.28c38760 | RHSA-2022:4651 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Extended Update Support | container-tools:3.0-8040020220419093313.c0c392d5 | RHSA-2022:4816 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Extended Update Support | container-tools:rhel8-8040020220623181602.c0c392d5 | RHSA-2022:5622 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.6 | podman-0:1.9.3-5.rhaos4.6.el8 | RHSA-2022:2263 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-1227 in your dependencies?
Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.