CVE-2022-23648 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) Information Exposure vulnerability in github.com/containerd/containerd. 3 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for github.com/containerd/containerd — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Insecure handling of image volumes in containerd CRI plugin
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2022-23648 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 385,738 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 10–50% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
github.com/containerd/containerd🐹github.com/containerd/containerd🐹github.com/containerd/containerdReal-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
Impact
A bug was found in containerd where containers launched through containerd’s CRI implementation with a specially-crafted image configuration could gain access to read-only copies of arbitrary files and directories on the host. This may bypass any policy-based enforcement on container setup (including a Kubernetes Pod Security Policy) and expose potentially sensitive information. Kubernetes and crictl can both be configured to use containerd’s CRI implementation.
Patches
This bug has been fixed in containerd 1.6.1, 1.5.10 and 1.4.13. Users should update to these versions to resolve the issue.
Workarounds
Ensure that only trusted images are used.
Credits
The containerd project would like to thank Felix Wilhelm of Google Project Zero for responsibly disclosing this issue in accordance with the containerd security policy.
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in containerd
- Email us at [email protected]
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/containerd/containerd | all versions | 1.4.13go get github.com/containerd/containerd@v1.4.13 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/containerd/containerd | ≥ 1.5.0&&< 1.5.10 | 1.5.10go get github.com/containerd/containerd@v1.5.10 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/containerd/containerd | ≥ 1.6.0&&< 1.6.1 | 1.6.1go get github.com/containerd/containerd@v1.6.1 |
Affected Products
debian linuxdebianfedorafedoraprojectcontainerdlinuxfoundationResearch 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/containerd/containerd, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/containerd/containerd to 1.4.13 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-23648 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Assume what was exposed is already known: rotate any credential, token or key that the affected component could return, restrict the endpoint to callers that genuinely need it, and strip sensitive fields from responses and error output at the boundary rather than relying on the client not to read them.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-23648 in your dependencies?
Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.