GHSA-5ffw-gxpp-mxpf
MEDIUMcontainerd CRI plugin: Host memory exhaustion through ExecSync
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.
Blast Radius
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's CRI implementation where programs inside a container can cause the containerd daemon to consume memory without bound during invocation of the ExecSync API. This can cause containerd to consume all available memory on the computer, denying service to other legitimate workloads. Kubernetes and crictl can both be configured to use containerd's CRI implementation; ExecSync may be used when running probes or when executing processes via an "exec" facility.
Patches
This bug has been fixed in containerd 1.6.6 and 1.5.13. Users should update to these versions to resolve the issue.
Workarounds
Ensure that only trusted images and commands are used.
References
- Similar fix in cri-o's CRI implementation https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/security/advisories/GHSA-fcm2-6c3h-pg6j
Credits
The containerd project would like to thank David Korczynski and Adam Korczynski of ADA Logics for responsibly disclosing this issue in accordance with the containerd security policy during a security audit sponsored by CNCF and facilitated by OSTIF.
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 | 1.5.13 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/containerd/containerd | ≥ 1.6.0&&< 1.6.6 | 1.6.6 |
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. 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 1.5.13 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-5ffw-gxpp-mxpf 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 GHSA-5ffw-gxpp-mxpf 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 GHSA-5ffw-gxpp-mxpf. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-5ffw-gxpp-mxpf in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-5ffw-gxpp-mxpf across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.