GHSA-c72p-9xmj-rx3w is a medium-severity (CVSS 5) CWE-668 vulnerability in github.com/containerd/containerd. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-c72p-9xmj-rx3w is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Archive package allows chmod of file outside of unpack target directory
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- 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 GHSA-c72p-9xmj-rx3w.
Real-World Exposure
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 where pulling and extracting a specially-crafted container image can result in Unix file permission changes for existing files in the host’s filesystem. Changes to file permissions can deny access to the expected owner of the file, widen access to others, or set extended bits like setuid, setgid, and sticky. This bug does not directly allow files to be read, modified, or executed without an additional cooperating process.
Patches
This bug has been fixed in containerd 1.5.4 and 1.4.8. Users should update to these versions as soon as they are released. Running containers do not need to be restarted.
Workarounds
Ensure you only pull images from trusted sources.
Linux security modules (LSMs) like SELinux and AppArmor can limit the files potentially affected by this bug through policies and profiles that prevent containerd from interacting with unexpected files.
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue
- Email us at [email protected] if you think you’ve found a security bug.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/containerd/containerd | all versions | 1.4.8 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/containerd/containerd | ≥ 1.5.0&&< 1.5.4 | 1.5.4 |
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 1.4.8 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-c72p-9xmj-rx3w 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-c72p-9xmj-rx3w 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-c72p-9xmj-rx3w. 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-c72p-9xmj-rx3w in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-c72p-9xmj-rx3w across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.