CVE-2022-24769

Workarounds

The entrypoint of a container can be modified to use a utility like capsh(1) to drop inheritable capabilities prior to the primary process starting.

Credits

The Moby project would like to thank Andrew G. Morgan for responsibly disclosing this issue in accordance with the Moby security policy.

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

• Open an issue
• Email us at [email protected] if you think you’ve found a security bug

A bug was found in Moby (Docker Engine) where containers were incorrectly started with non-empty inheritable Linux process capabilities, creating an atypical Linux environment and enabling programs with inheritable file capabilities to elevate those capabilities to the permitted set during execve(2). Normally, when executable programs have specified permitted file capabilities, otherwise unprivileged users and processes can execute those programs and gain the specified file capabilities up to the bounding set. Due to this bug, containers which included executable programs with inheritable file capabilities allowed otherwise unprivileged users and processes to additionally gain these inheritable file capabilities up to the container's bounding set. Containers which use Linux users and groups to perform privilege separation inside the container are most directly impacted.

This bug did not affect the container security sandbox as the inheritable set never contained more capabilities than were included in the container's bounding set.

A file, directory, or other resource is assigned permissions that allow broader access than intended. Typical impact: unauthorized read, modification, or execution of the resource.

CVE-2022-24769 has a CVSS score of 5.9 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, no privileges required, and no user interaction. 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 (20.10.14); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

This bug has been fixed in Moby (Docker Engine) 20.10.14. Users should update to this version as soon as possible. Running containers should be stopped, deleted, and recreated for the inheritable capabilities to be reset.

This fix changes Moby (Docker Engine) behavior such that containers are started with a more typical Linux environment. Refer to capabilities(7) for a description of how capabilities work. Note that permitted file capabilities continue to allow for privileges to be raised up to the container's bounding set and that processes may add capabilities to their own inheritable set up to the container's bounding set per the rules described in the manual page. In all cases the container's bounding set provides an upper bound on the capabilities that can be assumed and provides for the container security sandbox.

1. What is CVE-2022-24769? CVE-2022-24769 is a medium-severity incorrect permission assignment for critical resource vulnerability in github.com/moby/moby (go), affecting versions < 20.10.14. It is fixed in 20.10.14. A file, directory, or other resource is assigned permissions that allow broader access than intended.
2. How severe is CVE-2022-24769? CVE-2022-24769 has a CVSS score of 5.9 (Medium). 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 packages are affected by CVE-2022-24769?
   • github.com/moby/moby (go) (versions < 20.10.14)
   • github.com/docker/docker (go) (versions < 20.10.14)
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2022-24769? Yes. CVE-2022-24769 is fixed in 20.10.14. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2022-24769 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-24769 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-2022-24769 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-2022-24769?
   • Upgrade github.com/moby/moby to 20.10.14 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/docker/docker to 20.10.14 or later