containerd: CRI checkpoint import allows local image tag poisoning

Summary

CVECVE-2026-50195
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerGitHub_M
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-07-01 19:16:53 UTC
Updated2026-07-02 19:43:59 UTC
Descriptioncontainerd is an open-source container runtime. Versions prior to 2.3.2, 2.2.5 and 2.1.9 contain a vulnerability in the CRI checkpoint import process where it fails to validate the image references specified within a checkpoint image's configuration. An attacker with permissions to create pods can use a crafted checkpoint image to force containerd to pull a malicious image and assign it an arbitrary local tag, thereby poisoning the node's local image cache. Subsequently, if other pods on the same node attempt to use the poisoned tag with an IfNotPresent (or Never) pull policy, they will unknowingly execute the attacker's malicious image instead of the legitimate one. This can lead to a compromise of the affected pods, allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary code under the victim pod's identity. This issue has been fixed in versions 2.3.2, 2.2.5 and 2.1.9.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v4.0 5.6 MEDIUM from [email protected]

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:L/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

EPSS: 0.003540000 probability, percentile 0.274910000 (date 2026-07-04)

Problem Types: CWE-345 | CWE-829 | CWE-345 CWE-345: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity | CWE-829 CWE-829: Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere


VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
4.0[email protected]Secondary5.6MEDIUMCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:L/E:X/C...
4.0CNADECLARED5.6MEDIUMCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:L
3.1[email protected]Primary9.9CRITICALCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS v4.0 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
Present
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
None
Sub Conf.
High
Sub Integrity
High
Sub Availability
Low

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:L/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)

TypeVendorProductVersionUpdateEditionLanguage
Application Linuxfoundation Containerd All All All All

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Containerd Containerd affected >= 2.1.0, < 2.1.9 Not specified
CNA Containerd Containerd affected >= 2.2.0, < 2.2.5 Not specified
CNA Containerd Containerd affected >= 2.3.0, < 2.3.2 Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
github.com/containerd/containerd/security/advisories/GHSA-cvxm-645q-p574 [email protected] github.com Mitigation, Vendor Advisory
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis
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