CVE-2021-41190

Clarify Content-Type handling

Workarounds

Clients pulling from a registry may distrust the Content-Type header and reject an ambiguous document that contains both “manifests” and “layers” fields or “manifests” and “config” fields.

References

https://github.com/opencontainers/image-spec/security/advisories/GHSA-77vh-xpmg-72qh

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

• Open an issue in https://github.com/opencontainers/distribution-spec/
• Email us at [email protected]

In the OCI Distribution Specification version 1.0.0 and prior, the Content-Type header alone was used to determine the type of document during push and pull operations. Documents that contain both “manifests” and “layers” fields could be interpreted as either a manifest or an index in the absence of an accompanying Content-Type header. If a Content-Type header changed between two pulls of the same digest, a client may interpret the resulting content differently.

An object is accessed using a type that is incompatible with its actual type, causing the runtime to interpret memory incorrectly. Typical impact: memory safety violations, unexpected behavior, or code execution.

CVE-2021-41190 has a CVSS score of 3.0 (Low). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and user interaction required. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (1.0.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Already deployed Kodem?

The OCI Distribution Specification will be updated to require that a mediaType value present in a manifest or index match the Content-Type header used during the push and pull operations.

1. What is CVE-2021-41190? CVE-2021-41190 is a low-severity type confusion vulnerability in github.com/opencontainers/distribution-spec (go), affecting versions < 1.0.1. It is fixed in 1.0.1. An object is accessed using a type that is incompatible with its actual type, causing the runtime to interpret memory incorrectly.
2. How severe is CVE-2021-41190? CVE-2021-41190 has a CVSS score of 3.0 (Low). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which versions of github.com/opencontainers/distribution-spec are affected by CVE-2021-41190? github.com/opencontainers/distribution-spec (go) versions < 1.0.1 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2021-41190? Yes. CVE-2021-41190 is fixed in 1.0.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2021-41190 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2021-41190 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2021-41190 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2021-41190? Upgrade github.com/opencontainers/distribution-spec to 1.0.1 or later.