GHSA-fqw6-gf59-qr4w — containerd
HIGHGHSA-fqw6-gf59-qr4w is a high-severity (CVSS 7.8) Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in github.com/containerd/containerd. A fix is available for github.com/containerd/containerd — see the affected versions and patch details below.
containerd user ID handling bypass allows runAsNonRoot evasion
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 GHSA-fqw6-gf59-qr4w.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-fqw6-gf59-qr4w by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 380,526 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
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
A bug was found in containerd where containers launched with a numeric User directive that cannot be parsed as a 32-bit integer are incorrectly treated as a username. 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.
Patches
This bug has been fixed in the following containerd versions:
- 2.3.1
- 2.2.4
- 2.0.9
- 1.7.32
Note: The containerd 2.1 release has reached its end of life and a fixed version is not provided.
Users should update to these versions to resolve the issue.
Workarounds
Ensure that only trusted images are used and that only trusted users have permissions to import images. Alternatively, enforcing a specific numeric runAsUser in the Kubernetes Pod securityContext overrides the USER directive in the image and prevents the bypass. Newer versions of Kubernetes, starting with 1.34, also appear to enforce runAsNonRoot properly regardless of this bug.
Credits
The containerd project would like to thank Lei Wang (@ssst0n3) for responsibly disclosing this issue in accordance with the containerd security policy.
Resources
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-265r-hfxg-fhmg (CVE-2024-40635)
For more information
If there are any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in containerd
- Send an email to [email protected]
To report a security issue in containerd:
- Report a new vulnerability
- Send an email to [email protected]
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/containerd/containerd | ≥ 1.7.27&&< 1.7.32 | 1.7.32go get github.com/containerd/containerd@v1.7.32 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 | ≥ 2.0.4&&< 2.0.9 | 2.0.9go get github.com/containerd/containerd/v2@v2.0.9 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 | ≥ 2.1.0-beta.0&&< 2.2.4 | 2.2.4go get github.com/containerd/containerd/v2@v2.2.4 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 | ≥ 2.3.0-beta.0&&< 2.3.1 | 2.3.1go get github.com/containerd/containerd/v2@v2.3.1 |
Affected Products
containerdlinuxfoundationDetection & 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 1.7.32 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-fqw6-gf59-qr4w is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Close the privilege gap rather than the entry point: audit which accounts, roles and service identities can reach the affected operation, drop the component to the least privilege it actually needs, and review file and directory permissions created by earlier installs — a default left in place is what makes this reachable.
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 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…
Enforce a specific numeric runAsUser in the Kubernetes Pod securityContext, which overrides the User directive in the container image and prevents the bypass. Additionally, restrict access to push container images to trusted users only, and validate image provenance before deployment.Source: Red Hat security advisory for GHSA-fqw6-gf59-qr4w (CC BY 4.0)
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Hardened Images | trivy-main-0.72.0-0.1.hum1 | RHSA-2026:35111 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-fqw6-gf59-qr4w in your dependencies?
Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.