GHSA-wp3j-xq48-xpjw is a high-severity (CVSS 8.1) Path Traversal vulnerability in github.com/containers/podman/v5. A fix is available for github.com/containers/podman/v5 — see the affected versions and patch details below.
podman kube play symlink traversal vulnerability
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-wp3j-xq48-xpjw.
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-wp3j-xq48-xpjw 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 377,636 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/v5🐹github.com/containers/podman/v4Real-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
The podman kube play command can overwrite host files when the kube file contains a ConfigMap or Secret volume mount and the volume already contains a symlink to a host file. This allows a malicious container to write to arbitrary files on the host BUT the attacker only controls the target path not the contents that will be written to the file. The contents are defined in the yaml file by the end user.
Requirements to exploit:
podman kube play must be used with a ConfigMap or Secret volume mount AND must be run more than once on the same volume. All the attacker has to do is create the malicious symlink on the volume the first time it is started. After that all following starts would follow the symlink and write to the host location.
Patches
Fixed in podman v5.6.1 https://github.com/containers/podman/commit/43fbde4e665fe6cee6921868f04b7ccd3de5ad89
Workarounds
Don't use podman kube play with ConfigMap or Secret volume mounts.
PR with test for CI
Adding on 9/8/2025 by @TomSweeneyRedHat , this is the PR containing the test in CI: https://github.com/containers/podman/pull/27001
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/containers/podman/v5 | all versions | 5.6.1go get github.com/containers/podman/v5@v5.6.1 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/containers/podman/v4 | all versions | No fix |
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/v5, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/containers/podman/v5 to 5.6.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-wp3j-xq48-xpjw 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-wp3j-xq48-xpjw can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-wp3j-xq48-xpjw. 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.
The Red Hat Product Security team has evaluated this vulnerability as having the Important severity. This happens because of the consequences of an successful attack and the low complexity (AC:L) on exploiting this vulnerability. Although the attacker cannot control the content written to the target file, depending on…
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | podman-6:5.4.0-13.el10_0 | RHSA-2025:15901 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | podman-7:5.6.0-5.el10_1 | RHSA-2025:20983 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | podman-7:5.8.0-2.el10 | RHSA-2026:18289 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | container-tools:rhel8-8100020250911075811.afee755d | RHSA-2025:15904 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support | container-tools:rhel8-8060020250919150821.3b538bd8 | RHSA-2025:16482 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Telecommunications Update Service | container-tools:rhel8-8080020250919060528.0f77c1b7 | RHSA-2025:16515 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | podman-5:5.4.0-13.el9_6 | RHSA-2025:15900 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | podman-6:5.6.0-6.el9_7 | RHSA-2025:20909 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-wp3j-xq48-xpjw in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-wp3j-xq48-xpjw across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.