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CRITICAL

CVE-2026-50195

CVSS v3

9.9

CRITICAL

EPSS Score

0.3 %

exploit probability, as of 2026-10-19

CISA KEV

No

known exploited

Exploitation

—

SSVC status

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Affected and fixed versions

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

  • github.com/containerd/containerdGoall versions · no fixed version listed
  • github.com/containerd/containerd/v2Gofrom 2.1.0 · fixed in 2.1.9

Vendor advisories

  • CVE-2026-50195 Red Hat Product Security3 products fixed

    github.com/containerd/containerd: containerd: Arbitrary code execution via CRI checkpoint image tag poisoning

  • RHSA-2026:35111 Red Hat Product Security3 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs Security Update

Full record on NVD

Description

containerd 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.

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2026-07-01
Last Modified
2026-07-02

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-50195?

containerd 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.

Is CVE-2026-50195 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2026-50195 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 0.3% on 2026-10-19, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-50195?

CVE-2026-50195 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.9 (CRITICAL severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H.

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