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No exploitation reportedFix available

CVE-2021-32760

No exploitation reported by the sources we read.

  • Published2021-07-19
  • Fixed in1.5.4 · 1.4.8
  • WeaknessCWE-668 · CWE-732

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

containerd is a container runtime. A bug was found in containerd versions prior to 1.4.8 and 1.5.4 where pulling and extracting a specially-crafted container image can result in Unix file permission changes for existing files in the host’s filesystem. Changes to file permissions can deny access to the expected owner of the file, widen access to others, or set extended bits like setuid, setgid, and sticky. This bug does not directly allow files to be read, modified, or executed without an additional cooperating process. This bug has been fixed in containerd 1.5.4 and 1.4.8. As a workaround, ensure that users only pull images from trusted sources. Linux security modules (LSMs) like SELinux and AppArmor can limit the files potentially affected by this bug through policies and profiles that prevent containerd from interacting with specific files.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2021-07-1921:15CVE publishedNVD

Versions per branch

NVD · OSV
Linuxfoundation containerd
BranchAffectedFixed in
1.5≥ 1.5.0, < 1.5.41.5.4
1.4< 1.4.81.4.8
Fedoraproject fedora
BranchAffectedFixed in
34.x= 34no fix published

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Products declared by the CNA1 product

As GitHub_M, the CNA that assigned this CVE, declared them in the CVE record; versions as written.

  • containerd
    Affected
    • = <= 1.4.7no fix stated
    • = >= 1.5.0, <= 1.5.3no fix stated

Source: the CNA record (CVE Program), © The MITRE Corporation,CVE Terms of UseCVE recordupdated 2024-01-31

Distribution builds and vendor advisories

Packages from OSV.dev and products from the vendors' CSAF advisories.

version not verifiedVersions not verified: read as OSV.dev and the vendors publish them, not checked against each vendor's release list.

Packages

  • containerdUbuntu:Pro:16.04:LTSall versions · fixed in 1.2.6-0ubuntu1~16.04.6+esm2
  • containerdUbuntu:20.04:LTSall versions · fixed in 1.5.2-0ubuntu1~20.04.2
  • containerdUbuntu:18.04:LTSall versions · fixed in 1.5.2-0ubuntu1~18.04.2
  • containerdSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP1all versions · fixed in 1.4.11-56.1
  • containerdSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15all versions · fixed in 1.4.11-56.1
  • containerdSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15-LTSSall versions · fixed in 1.4.11-56.1
  • containerdSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSSall versions · fixed in 1.4.11-56.1
  • containerdSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-BCLall versions · fixed in 1.4.11-56.1

75 more package ranges on OSV.dev

Vendor advisories

  • CVE-2021-32760 Red Hat Product Security37 products fixed · 4 known affected

    containerd: pulling and extracting crafted container image may result in Unix file permission changes

    3scale-operator-container as a component of Red Hat 3scale API Management Platform 2 · rhods/odh-operator-base-rhel8 as a component of Red Hat OpenShift Data Science (RHODS) · osp-director-provisioner-container as a component of Red Hat OpenStack Platform 16.2 · +1 more

  • RHSA-2023:5952 Red Hat Product Security36 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh for 2.4.4 security update

  • RHSA-2022:2183 Red Hat Product Security1 product fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Release of containers for OSP 16.2.z director operator tech preview

Full record on NVD

Fix

  1. Update Linuxfoundation containerd to 1.5.4 · 1.4.8
  2. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2023:5952 · 36 productsFor details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to: https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258
  3. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2022:2183 · 1 productOSP 16.2 Release - OSP Director Operator Containers tech preview
  4. No fix available, says the vendor Red Hat Product Security CVE-2021-32760 · 3 productsAffected
  5. No fix planned, says the vendor Red Hat Product Security CVE-2021-32760 · 1 productWill not fix

Advisories and patches

Detection

Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof of concept
Metasploit modules
none listed
Metasploit Framework

Sources

  • CISA-ADPSSVC decisionnone2024-11-19
  • CNACVSS 3.15known since 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 3.16.3read 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 2.06.8read 2026-10-23
  • CNAweakness (CWE)CWE-668known since 2026-10-23
  • NVDweakness (CWE)CWE-732read 2026-10-23
  • FIRST EPSSEPSS score1.6 %2026-11-08
  • OSVaffected packages—
  • GitHub AdvisoriesadvisoryMODERATE2021-07-22

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Published
2021-07-19
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Modified
GitHub Advisory
GHSA-c72p-9xmj-rx3w

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-32760?

containerd is a container runtime. A bug was found in containerd versions prior to 1.4.8 and 1.5.4 where pulling and extracting a specially-crafted container image can result in Unix file permission changes for existing files in the host’s filesystem. Changes to file permissions can deny access to the expected owner of the file, widen access to others, or set extended bits like setuid, setgid, and sticky. This bug does not directly allow files to be read, modified, or executed without an additional cooperating process. This bug has been fixed in containerd 1.5.4 and 1.4.8. As a workaround, ensure that users only pull images from trusted sources. Linux security modules (LSMs) like SELinux and AppArmor can limit the files potentially affected by this bug through policies and profiles that prevent containerd from interacting with specific files.

Is CVE-2021-32760 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2021-32760 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 1.6% on 2026-11-08, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2021-32760?

CVE-2021-32760 has a CVSS v3 base score of 6.3 (MEDIUM severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L.

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