CVE-2026-95838
published 2026-10-12CVE-2026-95838: containerd is an open-source container runtime. Prior to 1.7.35, 2.0.12, 2.2.8, and 2.3.5, containerd's layer unpack handler repeatedly traverses directories…
PriorityP424medium4.6CVSS 4.0
AVLACLATNPRNUIAVCNVINVALSCNSINSANEXCRXIRXARXMAVXMACXMATXMPRXMUIXMVCXMVIXMVAXMSCXMSIXMSAXSXAUXRXVXREXUX
EPSS
0.21%
11.2th percentile
containerd is an open-source container runtime. Prior to 1.7.35, 2.0.12, 2.2.8, and 2.3.5, containerd's layer unpack handler repeatedly traverses directories for certain opaque whiteout configurations. A malicious image layer can trigger repeated directory traversals while opaque whiteouts are processed. Pulling or importing the image can consume CPU, delay container startup, and reduce image-pull concurrency for unrelated deployments. This issue is fixed in versions 1.7.35, 2.0.12, 2.2.8, and 2.3.5.
Affected
8 ranges
| Vendor | Product | Version range | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| containerd | containerd | < 1.7.35 | 1.7.35 |
| containerd | containerd | — | — |
| containerd | containerd | — | — |
| containerd | containerd | — | — |
| github.com | containerd_containerd | >= 0 < 1.7.35 | 1.7.35 |
| github.com | containerd_containerd_v2 | >= 0 < 2.0.12 | 2.0.12 |
| github.com | containerd_containerd_v2 | >= 2.2.0 < 2.2.8 | 2.2.8 |
| github.com | containerd_containerd_v2 | >= 2.3.0 < 2.3.5 | 2.3.5 |
CVSS provenance
nvdv4.04.6MEDIUMCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
vendor_redhat4.6MEDIUM
Stop checking back — get the weekly exploitation signal.
Every Monday: what got weaponized or added to CISA KEV in the last seven days — each CVE cross-linked to its PoC, Nuclei template, and detection rule. Free, one email a week, unsubscribe in one click.
GHSA
containerd: Unpack DoS via repeated opaque whiteouts
ghsa·2026-10-15
CVE-2026-95838 [MEDIUM] CWE-400 containerd: Unpack DoS via repeated opaque whiteouts
containerd: Unpack DoS via repeated opaque whiteouts
### Impact
A vulnerability exists in containerd's layer unpack handler where the processing of certain image layers causes superlinear time complexity. During the unpack operation, specific file configurations within the layer can trigger repeated directory traversals.
Consequently, pulling or importing a maliciously crafted image can result in increased unpack times and a moderate increase in CPU usage. This delays container startup, even if the compressed image layers are small. Additionally, in orchestrators like Kubernetes that apply concurrency limits to image pulls, these excessively long operations can reduce the available concurrency for other pulls, potentially delaying unrelated container deployments.
### Patches
This bug
Red Hat
github.com/containerd/containerd: containerd: Denial of Service via repeated directory traversals during layer unpacking
vendor_redhat·2026-10-12·CVSS 4.6
CVE-2026-95838 [MEDIUM] CWE-606 github.com/containerd/containerd: containerd: Denial of Service via repeated directory traversals during layer unpacking
github.com/containerd/containerd: containerd: Denial of Service via repeated directory traversals during layer unpacking
containerd is an open-source container runtime. Prior to 1.7.35, 2.0.12, 2.2.8, and 2.3.5, containerd's layer unpack handler repeatedly traverses directories for certain opaque whiteout configurations. A malicious image layer can trigger repeated directory traversals while opaque whiteouts are processed. Pulling or importing the image can consume CPU, delay container startup, and reduce image-pull concurrency for unrelated deployments. This issue is fixed in versions 1.7.35, 2.0.12, 2.2.8, and 2.3.5.
A flaw was found in containerd. When unpacking image layers with specific file configurations such as opaque whiteout markers, the unpack handler performs repeated directo
No detection rules found.
No public exploits indexed.
2026-10-12
Published