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Vulnerability record · CVE-2021-41103 · published 4 October 2021

CVE-2021-41103: Linuxfoundation containerd path traversal vulnerability

Linuxfoundation · Containerd

containerd is an open source container runtime with an emphasis on simplicity, robustness and portability. A bug was found in containerd where container root directories and some plugins had insufficiently restricted permissions, allowing otherwise unprivileged Linux users to traverse directory contents and execute programs. When containers included executable programs with extended permission bits (such as setuid), unprivileged Linux users could discover and execute those programs. When the UID of an unprivileged Linux user on the host collided with the file owner or group inside a container, the unprivileged Linux user on the host could discover, read, and modify those files. This vulnerability has been fixed in containerd 1.4.11 and containerd 1.5.7. Users should update to these version when they are released and may restart containers or update directory permissions to mitigate the vulnerability. Users unable to update should limit access to the host to trusted users. Update directory permission on container bundles directories.

7.8 CVSS 3.1 High EPSS 0.52% · top 58.3% CWE-22 · Path traversal
7.8CVSS 3.1 base score, v2 7.2
0.52%EPSS exploitation probability, 30 days
NoNot in CISA KEV
3Affected product versions listed by NVD
14References
17 Jun 2026Last modified by NVD

Description

containerd is an open source container runtime with an emphasis on simplicity, robustness and portability. A bug was found in containerd where container root directories and some plugins had insufficiently restricted permissions, allowing otherwise unprivileged Linux users to traverse directory contents and execute programs. When containers included executable programs with extended permission bits (such as setuid), unprivileged Linux users could discover and execute those programs. When the UID of an unprivileged Linux user on the host collided with the file owner or group inside a container, the unprivileged Linux user on the host could discover, read, and modify those files. This vulnerability has been fixed in containerd 1.4.11 and containerd 1.5.7. Users should update to these version when they are released and may restart containers or update directory permissions to mitigate the vulnerability. Users unable to update should limit access to the host to trusted users. Update directory permission on container bundles directories.

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

Affected products

3 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.

References

LinkTags
https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-222547.pdf
https://github.com/containerd/containerd/commit/5b46e404f6b9f661a205e28d59c982d3634148f8 PatchThird Party Advisory
https://github.com/containerd/containerd/security/advisories/GHSA-c2h3-6mxw-7mvq Third Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/B5Q6G6I4W5COQE25QMC7FJY
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/ZNFADTCHHYWVM6W4NJ6CB4F
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202401-31
https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-5002 Third Party Advisory
https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-222547.pdf
https://github.com/containerd/containerd/commit/5b46e404f6b9f661a205e28d59c982d3634148f8 PatchThird Party Advisory
https://github.com/containerd/containerd/security/advisories/GHSA-c2h3-6mxw-7mvq Third Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/B5Q6G6I4W5COQE25QMC7FJY
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/ZNFADTCHHYWVM6W4NJ6CB4F
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202401-31
https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-5002 Third Party Advisory

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Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2021-41103), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-26). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.