CVE-2026-77176 Kata-containers: insufficient validation of createcontainer mount and storage rules in genpolicy
A malicious host operator can mount arbitrary paths over sensitive host locations in Kata Containers, exposing confidential data or enabling code execution.
- 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-2026-77176?
CVE-2026-77176 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4, published on 20 Aug 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
A flaw was found in Kata Containers. In configurations utilizing genpolicy for Confidential Containers guest protection, a malicious host operator can exploit insufficient validation of CreateContainer mount and storage rules. This allows them to mount arbitrary container-rootfs paths over sensitive host locations or provision arbitrary content, potentially exposing confidential information or enabling the acceptance of attacker-controlled input.
Weakness: CWE-73
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-77176?
How do I fix CVE-2026-77176?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2026-77176 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-77176 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-97442, AZL-97479.