Summary
Contrast vulnerability allows arbitrary host data Injection into container VOLUME mount points
Background
The VOLUME directive in Dockerfiles, or the config.volumes field in OCI image descriptors, indicates filesystem paths "where the process is likely to write data". While these paths have special semantics in Docker, they are only hints in the OCI spec and are not treated specially by Kubernetes. However, containered implements the specified conversion logic and adds a mount point if there is none set by Kubernetes.
Unfortunately, the specification leaves it open whether the mount point is populated with any and what data, so the runtime needs to be able to push arbitrary data to the Kata agent. However, this is almost always not what the user wants:
- A declared
VOLUMElocation is usually important to the app's core functionality, which is usually at odds with the data in that location being untrusted. VOLUMEdeclarations are often used by image vendors to indicate "mount your persistence here" to the user. They are rarely useful without a real volume mounted there.
Workarounds
Explicitly mount an emptyDir to all VOLUME locations. If the initial data in these locations is needed by the application, the image needs to be modified to remove the config.volumes entries.
Impact
All of the following need to be true to be affected by this vulnerability:
- A bare metal Contrast deployment (AKS is not affected).
- An image with at least one VOLUME directive.
- No Kubernetes mount at the path of the VOLUME.
If these are all true, the host is able to write arbitrary trees below that mount point.
GHSA-PHHQ-63JG-FP7R has a CVSS score of 3.5 (Low). The vector is reachable from an adjacent network, 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 (1.9.1); 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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Patched in v1.9.1 by disallowing this configuration in contrast generate.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GHSA-PHHQ-63JG-FP7R? GHSA-PHHQ-63JG-FP7R is a low-severity security vulnerability in github.com/edgelesssys/contrast (go), affecting versions < 1.9.1. It is fixed in 1.9.1.
- How severe is GHSA-PHHQ-63JG-FP7R? GHSA-PHHQ-63JG-FP7R has a CVSS score of 3.5 (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/edgelesssys/contrast are affected by GHSA-PHHQ-63JG-FP7R? github.com/edgelesssys/contrast (go) versions < 1.9.1 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-PHHQ-63JG-FP7R? Yes. GHSA-PHHQ-63JG-FP7R is fixed in 1.9.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is GHSA-PHHQ-63JG-FP7R exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-PHHQ-63JG-FP7R 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-PHHQ-63JG-FP7R 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-PHHQ-63JG-FP7R? Upgrade
github.com/edgelesssys/contrastto 1.9.1 or later.