CVE-2024-25621 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.3) CWE-279 vulnerability in github.com/containerd/containerd. A fix is available for github.com/containerd/containerd — see the affected versions and patch details below.
containerd affected by a local privilege escalation via wide permissions on CRI directory
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2024-25621.
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-2024-25621 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 378,567 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/containerd/containerd🐹github.com/containerd/containerd/v2🐹github.com/containerd/containerd/v2🐹github.com/containerd/containerd/v2Real-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
An overly broad default permission vulnerability was found in containerd.
/var/lib/containerdwas created with the permission bits 0o711, while it should be created with 0o700- Allowed local users on the host to potentially access the metadata store and the content store
/run/containerd/io.containerd.grpc.v1.criwas created with 0o755, while it should be created with 0o700- Allowed local users on the host to potentially access the contents of Kubernetes local volumes. The contents of volumes might include setuid binaries, which could allow a local user on the host to elevate privileges on the host.
/run/containerd/io.containerd.sandbox.controller.v1.shimwas created with 0o711, while it should be created with 0o700
The directory paths may differ depending on the daemon configuration.
When the temp directory path is specified in the daemon configuration, that directory was also created with 0o711, while it should be created with 0o700.
Patches
This bug has been fixed in the following containerd versions:
- 2.2.0
- 2.1.5
- 2.0.7
- 1.7.29
Users should update to these versions to resolve the issue. These updates automatically change the permissions of the existing directories.
[!NOTE]
/run/containerdand/run/containerd/io.containerd.runtime.v2.taskare still created with 0o711. This is an expected behavior for supporting userns-remapped containers.
Workarounds
The system administrator on the host can manually chmod the directories to not have group or world accessible permisisons:
chmod 700 /var/lib/containerd
chmod 700 /run/containerd/io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri
chmod 700 /run/containerd/io.containerd.sandbox.controller.v1.shim
An alternative mitigation would be to run containerd in rootless mode.
Credits
The containerd project would like to thank David Leadbeater 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]
To report a security issue in containerd:
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/containerd/containerd | all versions | 1.7.29go get github.com/containerd/containerd@v1.7.29 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 | all versions | 2.0.7go get github.com/containerd/containerd/v2@v2.0.7 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 | ≥ 2.1.0-beta.0&&< 2.1.5 | 2.1.5go get github.com/containerd/containerd/v2@v2.1.5 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 | ≥ 2.2.0-beta.0&&< 2.2.0 | 2.2.0go get github.com/containerd/containerd/v2@v2.2.0 |
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 1.7.29 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-25621 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2024-25621 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2024-25621. 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.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Multicluster Global Hub 1.4.9 | multicluster-globalhub/multicluster-globalhub-agent-rhel9:1.4.3-1765591609 | RHSA-2025:23644 |
| Network Observability (NETOBSERV) 1.11.0 | network-observability/network-observability-cli-rhel9:1771226060 | RHSA-2026:2900 |
| OpenShift API for Data Protection 1.3 | oadp/oadp-mustgather-rhel9:1785177359 | RHSA-2026:51033 |
| OpenShift API for Data Protection 1.5 | oadp/oadp-mustgather-rhel9:1768627772 | RHSA-2026:2343 |
| Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes 2.14 | rhacm2/submariner-rhel9-operator:1780204322 | RHSA-2026:25127 |
| Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security 4.7 | advanced-cluster-security/rhacs-central-db-rhel8:4.7 | RHSA-2025:23248 |
| Red Hat multicluster global hub 1.5.3 | multicluster-globalhub/multicluster-globalhub-agent-rhel9:1.5.2-1765591231 | RHSA-2025:23428 |
| Red Hat OpenShift AI 2.16 | rhoai/odh-model-controller-rhel8:1774286327 | RHSA-2026:5807 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2024-25621 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2024-25621 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.