CVE-2026-55686 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in github.com/containers/podman/v5 (go), affecting versions <= 5.7.0. It is fixed in 5.7.1.
Summary Running a malicous container image where the WORKDIR path contains a symlink can create a directory or modify ownership on the host filesystem. Modified ownership is less likely to happen as that requires help from an untrusted/malicious process that mutates the host filesystem tree during dereferencing of the WORKDIR path, to trigger a race condition. Patch https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/commit/d18e44e9abb3bf5b7294aa70806e1368fdddfdd0 Details This issue was fixed in podman 5.7.1 (git commit 7ce2e00ab140c11a68301f0b161f51984131a858) PoC The reproducer script test1.bash demonstrates the vulnerability. The directory /var/BREAKOUT is created on the host. The container process uses the container directory /var/BREAKOUT as current working directory. The reproducer script test2.bash demonstrates the same vulnerability. The directory /var/BREAKOUT is created on the host. The container process uses the container directory /usr/local as current working directory. The reproducer script test2.bash shows that the working directory can be different from the breakout directory. Reproducer test1.bash Reproducer test2.bash Vulnerable: podman 5.7.0 using Fedora CoreOS 43.20251120.3.0 Not vulnerable: podman 5.7.1 using Fedora CoreOS 43.20260119.1.1 Credits We like to thank Erik Sjölund (@eriksjolund) for reporting the security impact to us.
CVE-2026-55686 has a CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, 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 (5.7.1). Upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
go
github.com/containers/podman/v5 (<= 5.7.0)github.com/containers/podman/v4 (<= 4.9.5)github.com/containers/podman/v3 (<= 3.4.7)github.com/containers/podman/v5 → 5.7.1 (go)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 instead of chasing every advisory.
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Upgrade github.com/containers/podman/v5 to 5.7.1 or later to resolve this vulnerability.
Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.
CVE-2026-55686 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in github.com/containers/podman/v5 (go), affecting versions <= 5.7.0. It is fixed in 5.7.1.
CVE-2026-55686 has a CVSS score of 5.3 (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.
github.com/containers/podman/v5 (go) (versions <= 5.7.0)github.com/containers/podman/v4 (go) (versions <= 4.9.5)github.com/containers/podman/v3 (go) (versions <= 3.4.7)Yes. CVE-2026-55686 is fixed in 5.7.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
Whether CVE-2026-55686 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
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.
Upgrade github.com/containers/podman/v5 to 5.7.1 or later.