Loading
Loading
We use strictly necessary cookies to run this site, and analytics cookies to understand how it's used. See our Privacy Policy for details.
A GitHub-reviewed security advisory, not necessarily under active exploitation the way our CISA KEV advisories are, but a real, disclosed vulnerability in an open-source dependency.
Affected packages
Vulnerable: < 2.0.12
Patched in 2.0.12
Vulnerable: < 1.7.35
Patched in 1.7.35
Vulnerable: >= 2.2.0, < 2.2.8
Patched in 2.2.8
Vulnerable: >= 2.3.0, < 2.3.5
Patched in 2.3.5
Details
A vulnerability exists in containerd's layer unpack handler where the processing of certain image layers causes superlinear time complexity. During the unpack operation, specific file configurations within the layer can trigger repeated directory traversals.
Consequently, pulling or importing a maliciously crafted image can result in increased unpack times and a moderate increase in CPU usage. This delays container startup, even if the compressed image layers are small. Additionally, in orchestrators like Kubernetes that apply concurrency limits to image pulls, these excessively long operations can reduce the available concurrency for other pulls, potentially delaying unrelated container deployments.
This bug has been fixed in containerd 2.3.5, 2.2.8, 2.0.12, and 1.7.35. Users should update to these versions to resolve the issue.
There are no known workarounds for this issue. Users are advised to only pull and import trusted images from known registries until the patch can be applied.
The containerd project would like to thank Jakub Ciolek of AlphaSense for responsibly disclosing this issue in accordance with the containerd security policy.
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
To report a security issue in containerd:
EPSS, exploit probability
Low0.21%
estimated chance of real-world exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 11.0% of every CVE FIRST.org scores
Refreshed 10/15/2026, via FIRST.org's EPSS model, not CVSS, this measures likelihood of exploitation, not how severe it would be.
Talk to us about this
Find out whether this dependency (or others like it) is actually reachable in your codebase.
Get help patching, or building dependency-scanning into your pipeline going forward.
A secure code review or supply chain review finds this before an advisory does.