Privilege Escalation in github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 (CVE-2026-95837)
Summary
Vulnerability in github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 (CVE-2026-95837). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. Exploitable via CreateContainer. Mitigation: upgrade to 2.3.4 or later.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
Impact
A vulnerability in containerd's CRI implementation allows a container restored from an untrusted checkpoint via the CreateContainer API to bypass the destination security context and execute with elevated privileges. When restoring a container from a checkpoint archive or annotated OCI image, CRIU restores process credentials, Linux capabilities, no_new_privs, and seccomp state directly from checkpoint data rather than enforcing the destination CRI ContainerConfig. An attacker who can run a container with a crafted checkpoint image can execute processes as root with full capabilities and no enforced seccomp filters despite restrictive security policies requested by the orchestrator. Additionally, containerd's CRI status reporting reflects the requested configuration rather than the actual restored process state, masking the privilege discrepancy from orchestrators. This issue affects Linux systems running containerd with CRI checkpoint restore enabled; users not utilizing CRI checkpoint restore are not affected.
Patches
This bug has been addressed in containerd 2.2.7 and 2.3.4 by disabling checkpoint restore via CreateContainer by default. The feature has been removed entirely in containerd 2.4.0. Users should update to these versions to resolve the issue. Running containers that were restored from untrusted checkpoints should be stopped, deleted, and recreated.
Users who rely on restore via the CreateContainer API can re-enable the feature by se…
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database NVD GitHub Advisory
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-95837 has been found in github.com/containerd/containerd/v2.
Attackers can target a specific entry point like CreateContainer over the network to misuse the product.
Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. CVSS score: 7.8/10.
What to do: upgrade github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 to 2.3.4 or later.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 CVE-2026-95837" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2026-95837 (github.com/containerd/containerd/v2) — CWE-269 / CVSS v3 7.8
Attack vector: local / no user interaction
Attack surface: CreateContainer / no_new_privs / ContainerConfig / enable_experimental_restore_via_create
Patched: 2.3.4 — apply immediately
Workaround: On unpatched versions, containerd does not provide a configuration option to disable checkpoint restore via CreateContainer.
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
A vulnerability (CWE-269) exists in github.com/containerd/containerd/v2. Attackers reach the vulnerable code path via CreateContainer.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of github.com/containerd/containerd/v2. Attack surface: CreateContainer / no_new_privs / ContainerConfig / enable_experimental_restore_via_create.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.8/10). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Update to 2.3.4.
Workaround: On unpatched versions, containerd does not provide a configuration option to disable checkpoint restore via CreateContainer.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Run grep -r 'github.com/containerd/containerd/v2' . against your dependency files (package-lock.json, requirements.txt, go.sum) to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
-
1Identify exposure identify
grep -r 'github.com/containerd/containerd/v2' . | grep -v node_modulesリポジトリと本番環境の依存ファイル (package-lock.json / requirements.txt / go.sum / Gemfile.lock 等) で
github.com/containerd/containerd/v2を grep し、稼働しているサービス・バージョンを把握する。 -
2Apply temporary workaround mitigate
On unpatched versions, containerd does not provide a configuration option to disable checkpoint restore via `CreateContainer`.パッチが適用されるまでの応急処置として、On unpatched versions, containerd does not provide a configuration option to disable checkpoint restore via
CreateContainer. を実施。回避策の副作用 (機能低下) を確認した上で。 -
3Apply patch patch
Upgrade github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 to 2.3.4ステージング環境で 2.3.4 に上げて回帰テスト → 本番反映。回帰テストはアプリの主要ハッピーパスを含めること。
-
4Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Affected packages
Fix status by distribution
Fixed packages published by each distribution for this CVE
- Debian DEBIAN-CVE-2026-95837 containerd
- Ubuntu UBUNTU-CVE-2026-95837 containerd
References
- advisory nvd.nist.gov
- package github.com
- web github.com
- web github.com
- web github.com
- web github.com