Summary
Ambiguous OCI manifest parsing
Workarounds
Ensure you only pull images from trusted sources.
References
https://github.com/opencontainers/distribution-spec/security/advisories/GHSA-mc8v-mgrf-8f4m
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 containerd
- Email us at [email protected]
Impact
In the OCI Distribution Specification version 1.0.0 and prior and in the OCI Image Specification version 1.0.1 and prior, manifest and index documents are ambiguous without an accompanying Content-Type HTTP header. Versions of containerd prior to 1.4.12 and 1.5.8 treat the Content-Type header as trusted and deserialize the document according to that header. If the Content-Type header changed between pulls of the same ambiguous document (with the same digest), the document may be interpreted differently, meaning that the digest alone is insufficient to unambiguously identify the content of the image.
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.
GHSA-5J5W-G665-5M35 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 (1.4.12, 1.5.8); 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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See it in your environmentNew to Kodem? Get a demo →Remediation advice
This issue has been fixed in containerd 1.4.12 and 1.5.8. Image pulls for manifests that contain a “manifests” field or indices which contain a “layers” field are rejected.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GHSA-5J5W-G665-5M35? GHSA-5J5W-G665-5M35 is a low-severity type confusion vulnerability in github.com/containerd/containerd (go), affecting versions < 1.4.12. It is fixed in 1.4.12, 1.5.8. An object is accessed using a type that is incompatible with its actual type, causing the runtime to interpret memory incorrectly.
- How severe is GHSA-5J5W-G665-5M35? GHSA-5J5W-G665-5M35 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.
- Which versions of github.com/containerd/containerd are affected by GHSA-5J5W-G665-5M35? github.com/containerd/containerd (go) versions < 1.4.12 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-5J5W-G665-5M35? Yes. GHSA-5J5W-G665-5M35 is fixed in 1.4.12, 1.5.8. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is GHSA-5J5W-G665-5M35 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-5J5W-G665-5M35 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 GHSA-5J5W-G665-5M35 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 GHSA-5J5W-G665-5M35?
- Upgrade
github.com/containerd/containerdto 1.4.12 or later - Upgrade
github.com/containerd/containerdto 1.5.8 or later
- Upgrade