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CVE-2026-53492 — Vulnerability in...

HIGH

containerd CRI checkpoint restore CDI annotation smuggling

Published June 19, 2026Updated September 10, 2026Source: osv

Summary

### Impact containerd's CRI implementation improperly trusts Container Device Interface (CDI) annotations found within untrusted checkpoint image metadata during container restoration. When restoring a container from a checkpoint, containerd preserves CDI-related annotations from the checkpoint archive rather than relying solely on the pod's create-time specification. This allows a user with pod creation permissions to bypass standard Kubernetes resource allocation and device plugin enforcement, injecting arbitrary CDI edits (such as device nodes and host mounts) into the restored container. Successful exploitation requires that the node has CDI enabled and contains a matching host CDI specification for the requested device; environments where CDI is disabled or lacking sensitive device specifications are not affected. ### Patches This bug has been fixed in the following containerd versions: * 2.3.2 * 2.2.5 * 2.1.9 Users should update to these versions to resolve the issue. Recreating existing containers restored from untrusted checkpoints may be necessary to remove smuggled configuration. ### Workarounds Users can mitigate this issue by restricting the restoration of containers from untrusted checkpoint images. If Container Device Interface (CDI) capabilities are not utilized on the node, removing or temporarily relocating host CDI specifications from the default directories (`/etc/cdi` and `/var/run/cdi`) will eliminate the reachability of this vulnerability. ### Credits The containerd project would like to thank Robert Prast (@robertprast) for responsibly disclosing this issue in accordance with the [containerd security policy](https://github.com/containerd/project/blob/main/SECURITY.md). ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: * Open an issue in [containerd](https://github.com/containerd/containerd/issues/new/choose) * Email us at [security@containerd.io](mailto:security@containerd.io) To report a security issue in containerd: * [Report a new vulnerability](https://github.com/containerd/containerd/security/advisories/new) * Email us at [security@containerd.io](mailto:security@containerd.io)

Advisory Timeline

  • First published June 19, 2026 (115 days ago).
  • Last revised September 10, 2026 — 82 days after initial publication.

Remediation

Upgrade to the fixed version using your package manager.

Go
Update github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 to 2.2.5 or later
go get github.com/containerd/containerd/v2@v2.2.5
Go
Update github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 to 2.1.9 or later
go get github.com/containerd/containerd/v2@v2.1.9
Go
Update github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 to 2.3.2 or later
go get github.com/containerd/containerd/v2@v2.3.2

After upgrading, run your dependency scanner again to confirm the vulnerability is resolved.

Affected Packages (3)

Affects 1 ecosystem: go (1).

PackageEcosystemAffectedFixed In
github.com/containerd/containerd/v2
go
All versions2.2.5
github.com/containerd/containerd/v2
go
All versions2.1.9
github.com/containerd/containerd/v2
go
All versions2.3.2

Vulnerability Classification

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) identifiers for this vulnerability type.

  • CWE-20
    Improper Input ValidationMITRE
  • CWE-863
    Incorrect AuthorizationMITRE

CVSS Score Breakdown

What the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) 9.6 score means for each attack dimension.

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
—
Confidentiality
—
Integrity
—
Availability
—

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:N

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-53492?
containerd CRI checkpoint restore CDI annotation smuggling This vulnerability has been assigned a severity rating of HIGH (CVSS score: 9.6/10).
How do I check if my project is affected by CVE-2026-53492?
CVE-2026-53492 affects github.com/containerd/containerd/v2. Use GeekWala's free vulnerability scanner to check your dependencies against CVE-2026-53492 and 200,000+ other known vulnerabilities.

Severity & Exploitability

CVSS Score
9.6

Exploitation is straightforward and causes maximum impact. Patch immediately.

Also Known As

GHSA-33vj-92qq-66hc
GO-2026-5064

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