CVE-2026-53492 containerd CRI checkpoint restore CDI annotation smuggling
Attackers with pod creation permissions can bypass device plugin enforcement and inject arbitrary host mounts by smuggling CDI annotations during container checkpoint restoration.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-53492?
CVE-2026-53492 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in containerd, published on 1 Jul 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
containerd is an open-source container runtime. In Versions prior to 2.3.2, 2.2.5 and 2.1.9, the CRI implementation improperly trusts Container Device Interface (CDI) annotations found within untrusted checkpoint image metadata during container restoration. When restoring a container from a checkpoint, containerd preserves CDI-related annotations from the checkpoint archive rather than relying solely on the pod's create-time specification. This allows a user with pod creation permissions to bypass standard Kubernetes resource allocation and device plugin enforcement, injecting arbitrary CDI edits (such as device nodes and host mounts) into the restored container. Successful exploitation requires that the node has CDI enabled and contains a matching host CDI specification for the requested device; environments where CDI is disabled or lacking sensitive device specifications are not affected. This issue has been fixed in versions 2.3.2, 2.2.5 and 2.1.9.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53492?
8 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 and github.com/containerd/containerd. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 Go | From 2.1.0 | 2.1.9, 2.2.5, 2.3.2 |
github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 Go | From 2.1.0 | 2.1.9 |
github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 Go | From 2.1.0 | 2.1.9 |
github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 Go | From 2.2.0 | 2.2.5 |
github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 Go | From 2.2.0 | 2.2.5 |
github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 Go | From 2.3.0 | 2.3.2 |
2 more packages
github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 Go | From 2.3.0 | 2.3.2 |
github.com/containerd/containerd Go | All versions | None |
Products include Linuxfoundation Containerd.
How do I fix CVE-2026-53492?
Upgrade github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 to a fixed version for your release line: 2.1.9, 2.2.5 or 2.3.2.
Upgrade, and check permissions on every request on the server, not only in the interface. More about Missing authorization.
Is CVE-2026-53492 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53492 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in containerd
- CVE-2026-53488 containerd CRI — image-config `LABEL` flows to restart-monitor `binary://` logger: host-root command execution from an image pull
- CVE-2026-53489 containerd: Arbitrary host CRI log file read via symlink following in CRI checkpoint restore
- CVE-2025-47290 Containerd vulnerable to host filesystem access during image unpack
- CVE-2026-46680 containerd user ID handling bypass allows runAsNonRoot evasion
- CVE-2024-25621 containerd affected by a local privilege escalation via wide permissions on CRI directory
Sources
Also known as AZL-90170, BELL-CVE-2026-53492, CLEANSTART-2026-DX29618, CLEANSTART-2026-SP23014, CLEANSTART-2026-VP76604, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53492 and 265 more.