How severe is CVE-2026-46680?

No CVSS score has been assigned to CVE-2026-46680 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2026-46680?

CVE-2026-46680 affects the following packages: github.com/containerd/containerd (Go), github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 (Go), github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 (Go), github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 (Go). Ecosystems affected: Go.

How do I fix CVE-2026-46680?

Update github.com/containerd/containerd to 1.7.32 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-46680 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2026-46680 in my Go dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/containerd/containerd. 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.

How do I mitigate CVE-2026-46680 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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 does O3 Security protect against CVE-2026-46680?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-46680 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is CVE-2026-46680 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2026-46680 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2026-46680?

CVE-2026-46680 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.2%, placing it in the 13th 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-2026-46680?

CVE-2026-46680 is classified as Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2026-46680 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2026-46680 was published on July 1, 2026 and was last updated on August 12, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CVE-2026-46680: containerd

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-2026-46680.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.2%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs13th percentile — riskier than 13% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

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.

Real-World Exposure

4 pkgs affected

🐹github.com/containerd/containerd🐹github.com/containerd/containerd/v2🐹github.com/containerd/containerd/v2🐹github.com/containerd/containerd/v2

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

containerd is an open-source container runtime. In versions prior to 1.7.32, 2.0.9, 2.2.4 and 2.3.1, containers launched with a numeric User directive that cannot be parsed as a 32-bit integer are incorrectly treated as a username, leading to runAsNonRoot evasion. If a crafted image provides an /etc/passwd file mapping this large numeric string to root, the container ultimately runs as root (UID 0). This allows the Kubernetes runAsNonRoot restriction to be bypassed, causing unexpected behavior for environments that require containers to run as a non-root user. This issue has been fixed in versions 1.7.32, 2.0.9, 2.2.4 and 2.3.1.

Affected Packages

4 total 4 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐹Go	`github.com/containerd/containerd`	≥ 1.7.27&&< 1.7.32	1.7.32
🐹Go	`github.com/containerd/containerd/v2`	≥ 2.0.4&&< 2.0.9	2.0.9
🐹Go	`github.com/containerd/containerd/v2`	≥ 2.1.0-beta.0&&< 2.2.4	2.2.4
🐹Go	`github.com/containerd/containerd/v2`	≥ 2.3.0-beta.0&&< 2.3.1	2.3.1

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. 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/containerd/containerd to 1.7.32 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-46680 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-2026-46680 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-2026-46680. 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.

Red HatImportant

Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform and its layered products include the containerd Go library as a build-time dependency for various components. These products do not use containerd as a container runtime; CRI-O is used instead. The vulnerable code path responsible for parsing User directives during container…

RHSA-2026:35111Red Hat Hardened Images

Frequently Asked Questions

containerd is an open-source container runtime. In versions prior to 1.7.32, 2.0.9, 2.2.4 and 2.3.1, containers launched with a numeric User directive that cannot be parsed as a 32-bit integer are incorrectly treated as a username, leading to runAsNonRoot evasion. If a crafted image provides an /etc/passwd file mapping this large numeric string to root, the container ultimately runs as root (UID 0). This allows the Kubernetes runAsNonRoot restriction to be bypassed, causing unexpected behavior for environments that require containers to run as a non-root user. This issue has been fixed in vers

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2026-46680 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2026-46680 across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVE-2026-46680