GHSA-66vw-v2x9-hw75 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) CWE-281 vulnerability in github.com/containers/podman/v3. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for github.com/containers/podman/v3 — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Podman publishes a malicious image to public registries
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
GHSA-66vw-v2x9-hw75 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 376,715 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/containers/podman/v3🐹github.com/containers/psgoReal-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
Podman is a tool for managing OCI containers and pods. A privilege escalation flaw was found in Podman. This flaw allows an attacker to publish a malicious image to a public registry. Once this image is downloaded by a potential victim, the vulnerability is triggered after a user runs the 'podman top' command. This action gives the attacker access to the host filesystem, leading to information disclosure or denial of service.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/containers/podman/v3 | all versions | 3.4go get github.com/containers/podman/v3@v3.4 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/containers/psgo | all versions | 1.7.2go get github.com/containers/psgo@v1.7.2 |
Research 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/containers/podman/v3, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/containers/podman/v3 to 3.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-66vw-v2x9-hw75 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 GHSA-66vw-v2x9-hw75 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-66vw-v2x9-hw75. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Extras | podman-0:1.6.4-32.el7_9 | RHSA-2022:2190 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | container-tools:rhel8-8060020220401155929.2e213529 | RHSA-2022:1762 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | container-tools:3.0-8060020220419093427.3b538bd8 | RHSA-2022:2143 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Extended Update Support | container-tools:2.0-8020020220420173758.28c38760 | RHSA-2022:4651 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Extended Update Support | container-tools:3.0-8040020220419093313.c0c392d5 | RHSA-2022:4816 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Extended Update Support | container-tools:rhel8-8040020220623181602.c0c392d5 | RHSA-2022:5622 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.6 | podman-0:1.9.3-5.rhaos4.6.el8 | RHSA-2022:2263 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-66vw-v2x9-hw75 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-66vw-v2x9-hw75 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.