CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-41163NVD status: Deferred

bubblewrap: Improper Privilege Management

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-41163 is a high-severity improper privilege management vulnerability in bubblewrap from Containers, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.0 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. Affected bubblewrap versions: >= 0.11.0, < 0.11.2. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.27% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of bubblewrap 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.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Containersbubblewrap>= 0.11.0, < 0.11.2Not stated
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 10Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 9Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4Not specified in the recordNot 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
LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
Attack complexity
HighSuccess depends on conditions outside the attacker's control.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
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
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

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

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 4.08.7HighCNA (github.com)
CVSS 3.17.0HighCNA

Official description

bubblewrap is a low-level unprivileged sandboxing tool. From version 0.11.0 to before version 0.11.2, if bubblewrap is installed in setuid mode then the user can use ptrace to attach to bubblewrap and control the unprivileged part of the sandbox setup phase. This allows the attacker to arbitrarily use the privileged operations, and in particular the "overlay mount" operation, allowing the creation of overlay mounts which is otherwise not allowed in the setuid version of bubblewrap. This issue has been patched in version 0.11.2.

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

The underlying weakness: Improper Privilege Management

The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Very carefully manage the setting, management, and handling of privileges. Explicitly manage trust zones in the software.
  • Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to entities in a software system.
  • Consider following the principle of separation of privilege. Require multiple conditions to be met before permitting access to a system resource.

More Improper Privilege Management vulnerabilities (CWE-269)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: partial).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Improper Privilege Management vulnerabilities

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