CVE-2024-25621

Workarounds

The system administrator on the host can manually chmod the directories to not
have group or world accessible permisisons:

chmod 700 /var/lib/containerd
chmod 700 /run/containerd/io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri
chmod 700 /run/containerd/io.containerd.sandbox.controller.v1.shim

An alternative mitigation would be to run containerd in rootless mode.

Credits

The containerd project would like to thank David Leadbeater for responsibly disclosing this issue in accordance with the containerd security policy.

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

• Open an issue in containerd
• Email us at [email protected]

To report a security issue in containerd:

• Report a new vulnerability

An overly broad default permission vulnerability was found in containerd.

• /var/lib/containerd was created with the permission bits 0o711, while it should be created with 0o700
  • Allowed local users on the host to potentially access the metadata store and the content store
• /run/containerd/io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri was created with 0o755, while it should be created with 0o700
  • Allowed local users on the host to potentially access the contents of Kubernetes local volumes. The contents of volumes might include setuid binaries, which could allow a local user on the host to elevate privileges on the host.
• /run/containerd/io.containerd.sandbox.controller.v1.shim was created with 0o711, while it should be created with 0o700

The directory paths may differ depending on the daemon configuration.
When the temp directory path is specified in the daemon configuration, that directory was also created with 0o711, while it should be created with 0o700.

CVE-2024-25621 has a CVSS score of 7.3 (High). The vector is requires local access, 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 (1.7.29, 2.0.7, 2.1.5, 2.2.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

This bug has been fixed in the following containerd versions:

• 2.2.0
• 2.1.5
• 2.0.7
• 1.7.29

Users should update to these versions to resolve the issue.
These updates automatically change the permissions of the existing directories.

[!NOTE]

/run/containerd and /run/containerd/io.containerd.runtime.v2.task are still created with 0o711.
This is an expected behavior for supporting userns-remapped containers.

1. What is CVE-2024-25621? CVE-2024-25621 is a high-severity security vulnerability in github.com/containerd/containerd (go), affecting versions < 1.7.29. It is fixed in 1.7.29, 2.0.7, 2.1.5, 2.2.0.
2. How severe is CVE-2024-25621? CVE-2024-25621 has a CVSS score of 7.3 (High). 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-2024-25621?
   • github.com/containerd/containerd (go) (versions < 1.7.29)
   • github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 (go) (versions < 2.0.7)
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2024-25621? Yes. CVE-2024-25621 is fixed in 1.7.29, 2.0.7, 2.1.5, 2.2.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2024-25621 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-25621 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-2024-25621 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-2024-25621?
   • Upgrade github.com/containerd/containerd to 1.7.29 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 to 2.0.7 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 to 2.1.5 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/containerd/containerd/v2 to 2.2.0 or later