runc container breakout through process.cwd trickery and leaked fds (CVE-2024-21626)
Published Last modified Sources: BSI, Debian, Red Hat, CVE.org, OSV
What is affected, what to do
A file descriptor leak issue was found in the runc package. While a user performs `O_CLOEXEC` all file descriptors before executing the container code, the file descriptor is open when performing `setcwd(2)`, which means that the reference can be kept alive in the container by configuring the working directory to be a path resolved through the file descriptor.
An exploit is publicly available. Update runc to version 1.1.12, ECS to version 3.8.1.0.
- Affected
- Opencontainers Runc
gte v1.0.0-rc93, < 1.1.12..*
- Opencontainers Runc
Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability
Metrics
8.6
Priority
XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.
Source: NVD, CVSS v3
8.6
CVSS v3
Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.
Source: BSI, Debian, Red Hat, CVE.org, OSV
18.9 %
EPSS score
Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.
Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 97.3
Show all metrics
- Severity
- High
Priority (0–325)
The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?
Read in glossary- 123.10 Methodology
Exploit maturity
An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.
Read in glossary- PoC (publicly reported)
XIEM Effective CVSS
XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.
Read in glossary- 8.6 Methodology
CVSS v3
CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.
Read in glossary- 8.6
EPSS score
The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.
Read in glossary- 18.9 %
- Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.
EPSS percentile
The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.
Read in glossary- 97.3
- Critical — this CVE ranks in the top fifth of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 80%).
KEV status
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- —
- Published
- CISA assessment (SSVC)
- Exploitation: proof of concept · not automatable · Technical impact: total
- Source: CISA Vulnrichment, as of 19 April 2024
CWE
CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.
Read in glossary- CWE-403, CWE-668
Detection rules
No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.
Classification under NIS2 and CRA
Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
NIS2
NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.
Read in glossary- High technical severity: assess and remediate the vulnerability in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2 and document the decision.
CRA
The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.
Read in glossary- From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.
Read in glossary- Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.
Description
A file descriptor leak issue was found in the runc package. While a user performs `O_CLOEXEC` all file descriptors before executing the container code, the file descriptor is open when performing `setcwd(2)`, which means that the reference can be kept alive in the container by configuring the working directory to be a path resolved through the file descriptor. The non-dumpable bit is unset after `execve`, meaning there are multiple ways to attack this other than bad configurations. The only way to defend against it entirely is to close all unneeded file descriptors.
Source: BSI CSAF, BSI WID Portal, Debian Security Advisories, redhat_csaf, cvelistv5, OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities), NVD (NIST)
Affected products
The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.
| Affected versions | Fixed in | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| opencontainers | runc |
|
|
| linuxfoundation | runc |
|
|
| Dell | ECS |
|
|
Vendors and products
Affected operating systems
| Linux | debian | runc | bookworm |
| Linux | debian | runc | bullseye |
| Other | fedoraproject | fedora | 39 |
Weakness classes (CWE)
CWE-403Exposure of File Descriptor to Unintended Control Sphere ('File Descriptor Leak')
Base
A process does not close sensitive file descriptors before invoking a child process, which allows the child to perform unauthorized I/O operations using those descriptors.
Entry at MITRE CWE-403CWE-668Exposure of Resource to Wrong Sphere
Class
The product exposes a resource to the wrong control sphere, providing unintended actors with inappropriate access to the resource.
Entry at MITRE CWE-668
Public exploit references
Publicly reported proof-of-concepts, exploit modules and detection templates for this vulnerability. NEOSEC links to the original sources only and does not provide any exploit code.
| Packet Storm | runc 1.1.11 File Descriptor Leak Privilege Escalation (opens in a new tab)packetstormsecurity.com | PoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified | — |
| PoC-in-GitHub (nomi-sec) | container-security-lab-cve-2024-21626 (opens in a new tab)github.com | PoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified | |
| PoC-in-GitHub (nomi-sec) | cve-2024-21626-runc-lab (opens in a new tab)github.com | PoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified |
References & sources
- github.comopencontainers/runc/security/advisories/GHSA-xr7r-f8xq-vfvvweb, x_refsource_CONFIRM
- NVD (NIST)vuln/detail/CVE-2024-21626advisory
- github.comopencontainers/runc/commit/02120488a4c0fc487d1ed2867e901eeed7ce…web, x_refsource_MISC
- access.redhat.comerrata/RHSA-2024:0645web, Vendor advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- access.redhat.comerrata/RHSA-2024:4597web, Vendor advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- access.redhat.comerrata/RHSA-2025:0115web, Vendor advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- access.redhat.comerrata/RHSA-2025:0650web, Vendor advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- access.redhat.comerrata/RHSA-2025:1711web, Vendor advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- access.redhat.comerrata/RHSA-2025:2441web, Vendor advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- access.redhat.comerrata/RHSA-2025:2701web, Vendor advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- access.redhat.comerrata/RHSA-2025:2710web, Vendor advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- access.redhat.comsecurity/cve/CVE-2024-21626web, Vulnerability database, x_refsource_REDHAT
- bugzilla.redhat.comRHBZ#2258725web, Issue tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT
- github.comopencontainers/runcpackage
- github.comopencontainers/runc/releases/tag/v1.1.12web, x_refsource_MISC
- lists.debian.orgdebian-lts-announce/2024/02/msg00005.htmlweb
- lists.fedoraproject.orgarchives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/…web
- lists.fedoraproject.orgarchives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/…web
- security.access.redhat.comdata/csaf/v2/vex/2024/cve-2024-21626.jsonweb, x_sadp-csaf-vex
- vicarius.iovsociety/posts/leaky-vessels-part-1-cve-2024-21626web
Changes to this CVE
Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).
Record modifiedGitHub
New references:- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/176993/runc-1.1.11-File-Descriptor-Leak-Privilege-Escalation.html
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/02/01/1
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/02/02/3
- https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/02120488a4c0fc487d1ed2867e901eeed7ce8ecf
and 5 more references
Show 25 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Reference added —http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/176993/runc-1.1.11-File-Descriptor-Leak-Privilege-Escalation.htmlReference added —http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/02/01/1Reference added —http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/02/02/3Reference added —https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/02120488a4c0fc487d1ed2867e901eeed7ce8ecfReference added —https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/releases/tag/v1.1.12Reference added —https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/security/advisories/GHSA-xr7r-f8xq-vfvvReference added —https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/02/msg00005.htmlReference added —https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/2NLXNE23Q5ESQUAI22Z7A63JX2WMPJ2J/Reference added —https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/SYMO3BANINS6RGFQFKPRG4FIOJ7GWYTL/Reference removed http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/176993/runc-1.1.11-File-Descriptor-Leak-Privilege-Escalation.html—Reference removed http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/02/01/1—Reference removed http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/02/02/3—Reference removed https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/02120488a4c0fc487d1ed2867e901eeed7ce8ecf—Reference removed https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/releases/tag/v1.1.12—Reference removed https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/security/advisories/GHSA-xr7r-f8xq-vfvv—Reference removed https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/02/msg00005.html—Reference removed https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/2NLXNE23Q5ESQUAI22Z7A63JX2WMPJ2J/—Reference removed https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/SYMO3BANINS6RGFQFKPRG4FIOJ7GWYTL/—Reference type removed http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/176993/runc-1.1.11-File-Descriptor-Leak-Privilege-Escalation.html Types: Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry—Reference type removed http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/02/01/1 Types: Mailing List—Reference type removed http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/02/02/3 Types: Mailing List—Reference type removed https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/02120488a4c0fc487d1ed2867e901eeed7ce8ecf Types: Patch—Reference type removed https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/releases/tag/v1.1.12 Types: Release Notes—Reference type removed https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/security/advisories/GHSA-xr7r-f8xq-vfvv Types: Exploit, Vendor Advisory—Reference type removed https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/SYMO3BANINS6RGFQFKPRG4FIOJ7GWYTL/ Types: Mailing List—Source identifier: security-advisories@github.com
Record modifiedCVE Program
New references:- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/176993/runc-1.1.11-File-Descriptor-Leak-Privilege-Escalation.html
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/02/01/1
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/02/02/3
- https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/02120488a4c0fc487d1ed2867e901eeed7ce8ecf
and 6 more references
Show 27 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Reference added —http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/176993/runc-1.1.11-File-Descriptor-Leak-Privilege-Escalation.htmlReference added —http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/02/01/1Reference added —http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/02/02/3Reference added —https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/02120488a4c0fc487d1ed2867e901eeed7ce8ecfReference added —https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/releases/tag/v1.1.12Reference added —https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/security/advisories/GHSA-xr7r-f8xq-vfvvReference added —https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/02/msg00005.htmlReference added —https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/2NLXNE23Q5ESQUAI22Z7A63JX2WMPJ2J/Reference added —https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/SYMO3BANINS6RGFQFKPRG4FIOJ7GWYTL/Reference added —https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/leaky-vessels-part-1-cve-2024-21626Reference removed http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/176993/runc-1.1.11-File-Descriptor-Leak-Privilege-Escalation.html—Reference removed http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/02/01/1—Reference removed http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/02/02/3—Reference removed https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/02120488a4c0fc487d1ed2867e901eeed7ce8ecf—Reference removed https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/releases/tag/v1.1.12—Reference removed https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/security/advisories/GHSA-xr7r-f8xq-vfvv—Reference removed https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/02/msg00005.html—Reference removed https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/2NLXNE23Q5ESQUAI22Z7A63JX2WMPJ2J/—Reference removed https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/SYMO3BANINS6RGFQFKPRG4FIOJ7GWYTL/—Reference removed https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/leaky-vessels-part-1-cve-2024-21626—Reference type removed http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/176993/runc-1.1.11-File-Descriptor-Leak-Privilege-Escalation.html Types: Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry—Reference type removed http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/02/01/1 Types: Mailing List—Reference type removed http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/02/02/3 Types: Mailing List—Reference type removed https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/02120488a4c0fc487d1ed2867e901eeed7ce8ecf Types: Patch—Reference type removed https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/releases/tag/v1.1.12 Types: Release Notes—Reference type removed https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/security/advisories/GHSA-xr7r-f8xq-vfvv Types: Exploit, Vendor Advisory—Reference type removed https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/SYMO3BANINS6RGFQFKPRG4FIOJ7GWYTL/ Types: Mailing List—Source identifier: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
Record modifiedRed Hat ADP
Show 61 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Affected versions (publisher) added —Affected value modified. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2024/21xxx/CVE-2024-21626.json">CVE-2024-21626</a>Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0645Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0662Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0666Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0670Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0684Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0717Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0748Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0752Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0755Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0756Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0757Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0758Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0759Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0760Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0764Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:10149Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:10520Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:10525Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:10841Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:1270Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:4597Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:0115Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:0650Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:1711Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:2441Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:2701Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:2710Reference added —https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-21626Reference added —https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2258725Reference added —https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2024/cve-2024-21626.jsonReference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0645—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0662—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0666—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0670—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0684—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0717—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0748—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0752—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0755—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0756—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0757—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0758—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0759—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0760—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0764—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:10149—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:10520—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:10525—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:10841—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:1270—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:4597—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:0115—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:0650—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:1711—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:2441—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:2701—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:2710—Reference removed https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-21626—Reference removed https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2258725—Reference removed https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2024/cve-2024-21626.json—Source identifier: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
Record modifiedRed Hat ADP
1 individual change: Affected versions (publisher)
Show the original change
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Affected versions (publisher) changed OCP-Tools-4.15-RHEL-8, OCP-Tools-4.15-RHEL-8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Extras (+77)OCP-Tools-4.15-RHEL-8, OCP-Tools-4.15-RHEL-8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Extras (+77)Source identifier: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
Record modifiedRed Hat ADP
1 individual change: Affected versions (publisher)
Show the original change
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Affected versions (publisher) changed OCP-Tools-4.15-RHEL-8, OCP-Tools-4.15-RHEL-8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Extras (+77)OCP-Tools-4.15-RHEL-8, OCP-Tools-4.15-RHEL-8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Extras (+77)Source identifier: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
Show 2 older changes
Record modifiedRed Hat ADP
1 individual change: Affected versions (publisher)
Show the original change
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Affected versions (publisher) changed OCP-Tools-4.15-RHEL-8, OCP-Tools-4.15-RHEL-8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Extras (+77)OCP-Tools-4.15-RHEL-8, OCP-Tools-4.15-RHEL-8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Extras (+77)Source identifier: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
Record modifiedRed Hat ADP
1 individual change: Affected versions (publisher)
Show the original change
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Affected versions (publisher) changed OCP-Tools-4.15-RHEL-8, OCP-Tools-4.15-RHEL-8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Extras (+77)OCP-Tools-4.15-RHEL-8, OCP-Tools-4.15-RHEL-8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Extras (+76)Source identifier: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
Embed badge
Show the severity and KEV status of this vulnerability on your site – with a link back here. The image is updated hourly.
<a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2024-21626"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2024-21626.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2024-21626 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>