How severe is CVE-2023-25173?

CVE-2023-25173 has a CVSS score of 5.3/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2023-25173?

CVE-2023-25173 affects the following packages: github.com/containerd/containerd (Go), github.com/containerd/containerd (Go). Ecosystems affected: Go.

How do I fix CVE-2023-25173?

Update github.com/containerd/containerd to 1.5.18 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-25173 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2023-25173 in my Go dependencies?

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.

How do I mitigate CVE-2023-25173 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.

Is CVE-2023-25173 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 1 known exploit references for CVE-2023-25173, including 1 in-the-wild exploitation observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2023-25173?

CVE-2023-25173 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.5%, placing it in the 46th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2023-25173?

CVE-2023-25173 is classified as CWE-863 (CWE-863). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2023-25173 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2023-25173 was published on February 16, 2023 and was last updated on October 28, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐹

🐹 Go

Not in CISA KEV

MEDIUM severity

CVE-2023-25173 — containerd

MEDIUMFix: containerd/containerd@133f6bb

CVE-2023-25173 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.3) CWE-863 vulnerability in github.com/containerd/containerd. 1 public exploit or proof-of-concept reference is indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for github.com/containerd/containerd — see the affected versions and patch details below.

containerd supplementary groups are not set up properly

Also known asGHSA-hmfx-3pcx-653pGO-2023-1574

Published

Feb 16, 2023

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

2 pkgs

Patched

2 / 2

Exploits

1 known

Exploitation data as of Nov 8, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Proof-of-concept exploit code exists

CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2023-25173.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.5%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs46th percentile — riskier than 46% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

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

2 pkgs affected

🐹github.com/containerd/containerd🐹github.com/containerd/containerd

Real-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 supplementary groups are not set up properly inside a container. If an attacker has direct access to a container and manipulates their supplementary group access, they may be able to use supplementary group access to bypass primary group restrictions in some cases, potentially gaining access to sensitive information or gaining the ability to execute code in that container.

Downstream applications that use the containerd client library may be affected as well.

Patches

This bug has been fixed in containerd v1.6.18 and v.1.5.18. Users should update to these versions and recreate containers to resolve this issue. Users who rely on a downstream application that uses containerd's client library should check that application for a separate advisory and instructions.

Workarounds

Ensure that the "USER $USERNAME" Dockerfile instruction is not used. Instead, set the container entrypoint to a value similar to ENTRYPOINT ["su", "-", "user"] to allow su to properly set up supplementary groups.

References

https://www.benthamsgaze.org/2022/08/22/vulnerability-in-linux-containers-investigation-and-mitigation/
Docker/Moby: CVE-2022-36109, fixed in Docker 20.10.18
CRI-O: CVE-2022-2995, fixed in CRI-O 1.25.0
Podman: CVE-2022-2989, fixed in Podman 3.0.1 and 4.2.0
Buildah: CVE-2022-2990, fixed in Buildah 1.27.1

Note that CVE IDs apply to a particular implementation, even if an issue is common.

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

Open an issue in containerd
Email us at [email protected]

To report a security issue in containerd:

Report a new vulnerability
Email us at [email protected]

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐹Go	`github.com/containerd/containerd`	all versions	1.5.18`go get github.com/containerd/containerd@v1.5.18`
🐹Go	`github.com/containerd/containerd`	≥ 1.6.0&&< 1.6.18	1.6.18`go get github.com/containerd/containerd@v1.6.18`

Affected Products

1 product · 2 configurations

Application

containerdlinuxfoundation

≥ 1.6.0 && < 1.6.18

range

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

containerd is an open source container runtime. A bug was found in conta…

benthamsgaze.orgNVDFeb 2023

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
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 1.5.18 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-25173 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.

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.

Red HatModerate

The following products include containerd related code, but do not use the specific Go packages impacted by this CVE, `containerd/cri/server` and `containerd/oci`. This CVE is therefore rated Low for these products: * OpenShift Container Platform * OpenShift Service Mesh * OpenShift API for Data Protection * Red Hat…

Product	Fixed in	Advisory
OADP-1.1-RHEL-8	`oadp/oadp-velero-plugin-rhel8:1.1.6-5`	RHSA-2023:5314
Openshift Serverless 1 on RHEL 8	`openshift-serverless-clients-0:1.8.1-3.el8`	RHSA-2023:3450
OSE-OSC-1.5-RHEL-9	`openshift-sandboxed-containers/osc-rhel9-operator:1.5.0-14`	RHEA-2023:7493
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8	`container-tools:rhel8-8090020230825121312.e7857ab1`	RHSA-2023:6939
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9	`buildah-1:1.31.3-1.el9`	RHSA-2023:6473
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9	`podman-2:4.6.1-5.el9`	RHSA-2023:6474
Red Hat Migration Toolkit for Containers 1.7	`rhmtc/openshift-migration-controller-rhel8:v1.7.9-4`	RHSA-2023:2107
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.11	`openshift4-wincw/windows-machine-config-rhel8-operator:6.0.1-38`	RHSA-2023:4488

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact A bug was found in containerd where supplementary groups are not set up properly inside a container. If an attacker has direct access to a container and manipulates their supplementary group access, they may be able to use supplementary group access to bypass primary group restrictions in some cases, potentially gaining access to sensitive information or gaining the ability to execute code in that container. Downstream applications that use the containerd client library may be affected as well. ### Patches This bug has been fixed in containerd v1.6.18 and v.1.5.18. Users should

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

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