Summary
podman kube play symlink traversal vulnerability
Requirements to exploit:
podman kube play must be used with a ConfigMap or Secret volume mount AND must be run more than once on the same volume. All the attacker has to do is create the malicious symlink on the volume the first time it is started. After that all following starts would follow the symlink and write to the host location.
Workarounds
Don't use podman kube play with ConfigMap or Secret volume mounts.
PR with test for CI
Adding on 9/8/2025 by @TomSweeneyRedHat , this is the PR containing the test in CI: https://github.com/containers/podman/pull/27001
Impact
The podman kube play command can overwrite host files when the kube file contains a ConfigMap or Secret volume mount and the volume already contains a symlink to a host file.
This allows a malicious container to write to arbitrary files on the host BUT the attacker only controls the target path not the contents that will be written to the file. The contents are defined in the yaml file by the end user.
Input manipulates file paths to reach files outside the intended directory, such as configuration or credential files. Typical impact: unauthorized file read or write outside the intended directory.
CVE-2025-9566 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (High). The vector is network-reachable, low 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 (5.6.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
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. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Fixed in podman v5.6.1
https://github.com/containers/podman/commit/43fbde4e665fe6cee6921868f04b7ccd3de5ad89
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2025-9566? CVE-2025-9566 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in github.com/containers/podman/v5 (go), affecting versions <= 5.6.0. It is fixed in 5.6.1. Input manipulates file paths to reach files outside the intended directory, such as configuration or credential files.
- How severe is CVE-2025-9566? CVE-2025-9566 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (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.
- Which packages are affected by CVE-2025-9566?
github.com/containers/podman/v5(go) (versions <= 5.6.0)github.com/containers/podman/v4(go) (versions <= 4.9.5)
- Is there a fix for CVE-2025-9566? Yes. CVE-2025-9566 is fixed in 5.6.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2025-9566 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-9566 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
- What actually determines whether CVE-2025-9566 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.
- How do I fix CVE-2025-9566? Upgrade
github.com/containers/podman/v5to 5.6.1 or later.