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Runc CVE-2025-52881

HIGH
UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following (CWE-61)
2025-11-06 security-advisories@github.com
Information Disclosure Docker Runc Linuxfoundation
7.3
CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: github
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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
CWE-61
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling UNIX symlink resolution
Impact

CVSS score of 7.3 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, user interaction required. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.03%.
Exploit ScenarioDerived

Successful exploitation could compromise the high-severity affected system.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Mar 28, 2026

runc is a CLI tool for spawning and running containers according to the OCI specification. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Apply vendor patches when available. Implement network segmentation and monitoring as interim mitigations.

Affected Packages

go github.com/opencontainers/runc fix: 1.2.8, 1.3.3, 1.4.0-rc.3
go github.com/opencontainers/selinux fix: 1.13.0

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 2 packages in go

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Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-61. runc is a CLI tool for spawning and running containers according to the OCI specification. In versions 1.2.7, 1.3.2 and 1.4.0-rc.2, an attacker can trick runc into misdirecting writes to /proc to other procfs files through the use of a racing container with shared mounts (we have also verified this attack is possible to exploit using a standard Dockerfile with docker buildx build as that also permits triggering parallel execution of containers with custom shared mounts configured). This redirect could be through symbolic links in a tmpfs or theoretically other methods such as regular bind-mounts. While similar, the mitigation applied for the related CVE, CVE-2019-19921, was fairly limited and effectively only caused runc to verify that when LSM labels are written they are actually procfs files. This issue is fixed in versions 1.2.8, 1.3.3, and 1.4.0-rc.3. Affected products include: Linuxfoundation Runc.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source

Vendor (github) PRIMARY 7.3 HIGH
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H
SUSE 7.5 HIGH
AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Red Hat 8.2 HIGH

Primary rating from Vendor (github).

CVSS VectorVendor: github

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
Present
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
Active
Vulnerable system: Confidentiality
High
Vulnerable system: Integrity
High
Vulnerable system: Availability
High
Subsequent system: Confidentiality
High
Subsequent system: Integrity
High
Subsequent system: Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

3
Patch released
Mar 28, 2026 - 19:20 nvd
Patch available
PoC Detected
Dec 03, 2025 - 18:37 vuln.today
Public exploit code
CVE Published
Nov 06, 2025 - 21:15 nvd
HIGH 7.3

DescriptionCVE.org

runc is a CLI tool for spawning and running containers according to the OCI specification. In versions 1.2.7, 1.3.2 and 1.4.0-rc.2, an attacker can trick runc into misdirecting writes to /proc to other procfs files through the use of a racing container with shared mounts (we have also verified this attack is possible to exploit using a standard Dockerfile with docker buildx build as that also permits triggering parallel execution of containers with custom shared mounts configured). This redirect could be through symbolic links in a tmpfs or theoretically other methods such as regular bind-mounts. While similar, the mitigation applied for the related CVE, CVE-2019-19921, was fairly limited and effectively only caused runc to verify that when LSM labels are written they are actually procfs files. This issue is fixed in versions 1.2.8, 1.3.3, and 1.4.0-rc.3.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

Organizations using runc face moderate risk from CVE-2025-52881 rated CVSS 7.3. Exploitation could compromise the security of affected deployments. Proof-of-concept code is publicly available, increasing the risk of exploitation. A patch is available and should be applied as part of regular vulnerability management.

Business Impact: Moderate
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch. If immediate patching is not feasible: (1) Implement network-level access controls to limit exposure; (2) Enable enhanced monitoring and alerting; (3) Apply principle of least privilege.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 90% exploitable
Exploit
POC
Public exploit code exists
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium
NVD CVE.org EPSS Vendor GitHub

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC Yes
EPSS 0.0%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

Exploitation· derived
Poc
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No

Priority Score

56
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +36
PoC: +20
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Information Disclosure MEDIUM

Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:runc:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:runc:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:runc:1.4.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:runc:1.4.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*

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Same weakness CWE-61 – UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following

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CVE-2026-54420 HIGH POC
8.5
CVE-2026-27976 HIGH POC
8.8
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CVE-2026-39860 HIGH POC
8.4
CVE-2026-54574 HIGH POC
8.2
CVE-2026-41326 HIGH POC
8.2
CVE-2025-1079 HIGH POC
7.8

Same technique Information Disclosure

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CVE-2019-2725 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2021-34523 CRITICAL POC
9.0
CVE-2013-2251 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2017-5638 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2025-24813 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2025-68613 HIGH POC
8.8
CVE-2015-1701 HIGH POC
7.8
CVE-2017-0147 HIGH POC
7.5

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: High
Product Status
Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/baremetal-os-container:2.1.3-6.99 Affected
Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-os-container:2.1.3-5.7 Image SL-Micro Affected
Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/toolbox:latest Affected
Container suse/sl-micro/6.1/baremetal-os-container:2.2.1-7.29 Affected
Container suse/sl-micro/6.1/base-os-container:2.2.0-4.57 Affected

References

Advisories & patches
PATCH http://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/a41366e74080fa9f26a2cd3544e2801449697322 PATCH http://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/fdcc9d3cad2f85954a241ccb910a61aaa1ef47f3 PATCH https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/blob/v1.4.0-rc.2/RELEASES.md PATCH https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/3f925525b44d247e390e529e772a0dc0c0bc3557 PATCH https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/435cc81be6b79cdec73b4002c0dae549b2f6ae6d PATCH https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/44a0fcf685db051c80b8c269812bb177f5802c58 PATCH https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/4b37cd93f86e72feac866442988b549b5b7bf3e6 PATCH https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/6fc191449109ea14bb7d61238f24a33fe08c651f PATCH https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/77889b56db939c323d29d1130f28f9aea2edb544 PATCH https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/77d217c7c3775d8ca5af89e477e81568ef4572db PATCH https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/b3dd1bc562ed9996d1a0f249e056c16624046d28 PATCH https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/d40b3439a9614a86e87b81a94c6811ec6fa2d7d2 PATCH https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/d61fd29d854b416feaaf128bf650325cd2182165 PATCH https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/db19bbed5348847da433faa9d69e9f90192bfa64 PATCH https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/ed6b1693b8b3ae7eb0250a7e76fc888cdacf98c1 PATCH https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/ff6fe1324663538167eca8b3d3eec61e1bd4fa51 PATCH https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/ff94f9991bd32076c871ef0ad8bc1b763458e480 PATCH https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/security/advisories/GHSA-9493-h29p-rfm2 PATCH https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/security/advisories/GHSA-qw9x-cqr3-wc7r ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:19927 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:20957 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:21220 ADVISORY 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