Bug 2496128 (CVE-2026-50195)

Summary: CVE-2026-50195 github.com/containerd/containerd: containerd: Arbitrary code execution via CRI checkpoint image tag poisoning
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security <prodsec-ir-bot>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
Severity: medium Docs Contact:
Priority: medium    
Version: unspecifiedCC: amctagga, anjoseph, anpicker, aoconnor, aprice, bdettelb, bniver, bparees, cahl, crizzo, dbosanac, derez, dfreiber, dhanak, dkeler, doconnor, drosa, drow, dschmidt, dsimansk, dymurray, eborisov, eglynn, flucifre, gmeno, gparvin, groman, hasun, ibolton, jburrell, jcantril, jfula, jjoyce, jkoehler, jlanda, jmatthew, jmontleo, jowilson, jprabhak, jpretori, jreimann, jsamir, jschluet, kaycoth, kbempah, kingland, kshier, lball, lgamliel, lhh, ljawale, lphiri, manissin, mbenjamin, mburns, mdessi, mgarciac, mhackett, mnovotny, mrizzi, msilmser, ngough, nyancey, oezr, ometelka, pakotvan, pcattana, pgaikwad, ptisnovs, rekumar, rhaigner, rjohnson, rojacob, sakbas, sausingh, sbratsla, sdawley, simaishi, slucidi, solenoci, sostapov, sseago, stcannon, sthirugn, suppawar, syedriko, teagle, thason, vereddy, veshanka, vkumar, vvoronko, whayutin, wtam, xdharmai, yguenane
Target Milestone: ---Keywords: Security
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Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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A flaw was found in containerd, an open-source container runtime. The CRI (Container Runtime Interface) checkpoint import process fails to validate image references within a checkpoint image's configuration. An attacker with permissions to create pods can exploit this by using a specially crafted checkpoint image to force containerd to pull a malicious image and assign it an arbitrary local tag. This action poisons the node's local image cache, leading to other pods unknowingly executing the attacker's malicious image instead of the legitimate one, which can result in arbitrary code execution under the victim pod's identity.
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oVirt Team: --- RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
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Bug Depends On: 2496534    
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-07-01 19:01:46 UTC 
containerd is an open-source container runtime. Versions prior to 2.3.2, 2.2.5 and 2.1.9 contain a vulnerability in the CRI checkpoint import process where it fails to validate the image references specified within a checkpoint image's configuration. An attacker with permissions to create pods can use a crafted checkpoint image to force containerd to pull a malicious image and assign it an arbitrary local tag, thereby poisoning the node's local image cache. Subsequently, if other pods on the same node attempt to use the poisoned tag with an IfNotPresent (or Never) pull policy, they will unknowingly execute the attacker's malicious image instead of the legitimate one. This can lead to a compromise of the affected pods, allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary code under the victim pod's identity. This issue has been fixed in versions 2.3.2, 2.2.5 and 2.1.9.