CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2022-23648NVD status: Modified

containerd: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2022-23648 is a high-severity exposure of sensitive information to an unauthorized actor vulnerability in containerd, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected containerd versions: < 1.4.13; >= 1.5.0, < 1.5.10; >= 1.6.0, < 1.6.1. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 27.4% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is in the top 1.91% of all scored CVEs.

Patch this week

EPSS places it among the vulnerabilities most likely to be exploited soon.

What to do

  1. Check which version of containerd you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
  2. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
  3. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Containerdcontainerd< 1.4.13; >= 1.5.0, < 1.5.10; >= 1.6.0, < 1.6.1Not stated
DebianDebian Linux11.0Not stated
Fedora ProjectFedora34; 35; 36Not stated

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
NoneNothing can be modified.
Availability
NoneAvailability is not affected.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N. Scored by NVD.

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 3.17.5HighCNA (github.com)
CVSS 3.17.5HighNVD
CVSS 2.05.0MediumNVD

Official description

containerd is a container runtime available as a daemon for Linux and Windows. A bug was found in containerd prior to versions 1.6.1, 1.5.10, and 1.14.12 where containers launched through containerd’s CRI implementation on Linux with a specially-crafted image configuration could gain access to read-only copies of arbitrary files and directories on the host. This may bypass any policy-based enforcement on container setup (including a Kubernetes Pod Security Policy) and expose potentially sensitive information. Kubernetes and crictl can both be configured to use containerd’s CRI implementation. This bug has been fixed in containerd 1.6.1, 1.5.10, and 1.4.12. Users should update to these versions to resolve the issue.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor

The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Compartmentalize the system to have safe areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area. Ensure that appropriate compartmentalization is built into the system design, and the compartmentalization allows for and reinforces privilege separation functionality. Architects and designers should rely on the principle of least privilege to decide the appropriate time to use privileges and the time to drop privileges.

More Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor vulnerabilities (CWE-200)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Third-party and government advisories

Technical write-ups (may include proof of concept)

Other vulnerabilities in containerd

All containerd vulnerabilities

Recent Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor vulnerabilities

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