{"id":"CVE-2026-50540","aliases":["AZL-94610","AZL-94622","AZL-94679","AZL-94682","EUVD-2026-54679","GHSA-mp2j-xm59-qfgw","OESA-2026-3405","OESA-2026-3653","OESA-2026-3850"],"status":"published","title":"Kata Containers: Config Path Annotation Arbitrary File Loading","description":"Kata Containers is an open source project focusing on a standard implementation of lightweight Virtual Machines (VMs) that perform like containers. Prior to version 4.0.0, kata-runtime is vulnerable to host code execution via an unvalidated configuration path annotation. The runtime accepts an arbitrary io.katacontainers.config_path pod annotation and loads the referenced host TOML file without restriction. As a result, a pod user who can place a file at a host-visible path can supply a configuration that selects an attacker-controlled hypervisor or virtio-fs daemon binary, executing code as root on the host. This issue is fixed in version 4.0.0.","severity":{"version":"3.1","score":9.6,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N","level":"critical","assessor":"cna","from":"cve"},"epss":{"day":"2026-11-10","score":0.00425,"percentile":0.37137,"model":"v2026.06.15"},"facts":{"in_kev":false,"known_exploited":false,"public_exploit":false,"fix_available":true},"cwes":["CWE-20","CWE-22"],"published":"2026-08-07T20:56:26Z","modified":"2026-11-05T05:40:51Z","fixes":[{"ecosystem":"Azure Linux:3","package":"kata-containers","fixed_in":["3.32.0.kata0-5"],"sources":["osv"]},{"ecosystem":"Azure Linux:3","package":"kata-containers-cc","fixed_in":["3.15.0.aks0-20"],"sources":["osv"]},{"ecosystem":"openEuler:24.03-LTS-SP4","package":"kata-containers","fixed_in":["3.2.0-23.oe2403sp4"],"sources":["osv"]},{"ecosystem":"openEuler:20.03-LTS-SP4","package":"kata-containers","fixed_in":["v1.11.1-22.oe2003sp4"],"sources":["osv"]},{"ecosystem":"openEuler:22.03-LTS-SP4","package":"kata-containers","fixed_in":["1.11.1-37.oe2203sp4"],"sources":["osv"]},{"ecosystem":"openEuler:24.03-LTS-SP1","package":"kata-containers","fixed_in":["3.2.0-23.oe2403sp1"],"sources":["osv"]},{"ecosystem":"openEuler:24.03-LTS-SP3","package":"kata-containers","fixed_in":["3.2.0-23.oe2403sp3"],"sources":["osv"]},{"ecosystem":"openEuler:24.03-LTS-SP3","package":"kata-containers-go","fixed_in":["1.11.1-35.oe2403sp3"],"sources":["osv"]},{"ecosystem":"openEuler:24.03-LTS-SP4","package":"kata-containers-go","fixed_in":["1.11.1-35.oe2403sp4"],"sources":["osv"]}],"affected":[{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Azure Linux:3","package":"kata-containers","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"3.32.0.kata0-5"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Azure Linux:3","package":"kata-containers-cc","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"3.15.0.aks0-20"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Azure Linux:3","package":"cri-o","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"last_affected":"1.30.1-1"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Azure Linux:3","package":"kata-containers-preview","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"last_affected":"3.27.0~preview2-2"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"openEuler:24.03-LTS-SP4","package":"kata-containers","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"3.2.0-23.oe2403sp4"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"openEuler:20.03-LTS-SP4","package":"kata-containers","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"v1.11.1-22.oe2003sp4"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"openEuler:22.03-LTS-SP4","package":"kata-containers","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"1.11.1-37.oe2203sp4"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"openEuler:24.03-LTS-SP1","package":"kata-containers","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"3.2.0-23.oe2403sp1"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"openEuler:24.03-LTS-SP3","package":"kata-containers","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"3.2.0-23.oe2403sp3"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"openEuler:24.03-LTS-SP3","package":"kata-containers-go","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"1.11.1-35.oe2403sp3"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"openEuler:24.03-LTS-SP4","package":"kata-containers-go","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"1.11.1-35.oe2403sp4"}]}]}],"products":[{"vendor":"kata-containers","product":"kata-containers"}],"references":[{"url":"https://github.com/kata-containers/kata-containers/security/advisories/GHSA-mp2j-xm59-qfgw","tags":["x_refsource_CONFIRM","advisory"]},{"url":"https://github.com/kata-containers/kata-containers/commit/03cc670076099530f4e1e9cb22849afdafb20f65","tags":["x_refsource_MISC","fix"]},{"url":"http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/08/23/3","tags":["web"]},{"url":"http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/08/24/1","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-50540","tags":["web","advisory"]},{"url":"https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/50xxx/CVE-2026-50540.json","tags":["advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.openeuler.org/zh/security/security-bulletins/detail/?id=openEuler-SA-2026-3405","tags":["advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.openeuler.org/zh/security/security-bulletins/detail/?id=openEuler-SA-2026-3653","tags":["advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.openeuler.org/zh/security/security-bulletins/detail/?id=openEuler-SA-2026-3850","tags":["advisory"]}],"sources":{"cve":[{"id":"CVE-2026-50540","title":"Kata Containers: Config Path Annotation Arbitrary File Loading","description":"Kata Containers is an open source project focusing on a standard implementation of lightweight Virtual Machines (VMs) that perform like containers. Prior to version 4.0.0, kata-runtime is vulnerable to host code execution via an unvalidated configuration path annotation. The runtime accepts an arbitrary io.katacontainers.config_path pod annotation and loads the referenced host TOML file without restriction. As a result, a pod user who can place a file at a host-visible path can supply a configuration that selects an attacker-controlled hypervisor or virtio-fs daemon binary, executing code as root on the host. This issue is fixed in version 4.0.0.","status":"published","published":"2026-08-07T20:56:26.209Z","modified":"2026-08-24T06:13:27.182Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":9.6,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N","level":"critical","assessor":"cna"}],"cwes":["CWE-20","CWE-22"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:20:09.098623Z"}],"euvd":[{"id":"EUVD-2026-54679","description":"Kata Containers is an open source project focusing on a standard implementation of lightweight Virtual Machines (VMs) that perform like containers. Prior to version 4.0.0, kata-runtime is vulnerable to host code execution via an unvalidated configuration path annotation. The runtime accepts an arbitrary io.katacontainers.config_path pod annotation and loads the referenced host TOML file without restriction. As a result, a pod user who can place a file at a host-visible path can supply a configuration that selects an attacker-controlled hypervisor or virtio-fs daemon binary, executing code as root on the host. This issue is fixed in version 4.0.0.","status":"published","published":"2026-08-07T20:56:26Z","modified":"2026-08-24T06:13:27Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":9.6,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N","level":"critical"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T18:01:35.768217Z"}],"nvd":[{"id":"CVE-2026-50540","description":"Kata Containers is an open source project focusing on a standard implementation of lightweight Virtual Machines (VMs) that perform like containers. Prior to version 4.0.0, kata-runtime is vulnerable to host code execution via an unvalidated configuration path annotation. The runtime accepts an arbitrary io.katacontainers.config_path pod annotation and loads the referenced host TOML file without restriction. As a result, a pod user who can place a file at a host-visible path can supply a configuration that selects an attacker-controlled hypervisor or virtio-fs daemon binary, executing code as root on the host. This issue is fixed in version 4.0.0.","status":"published","published":"2026-08-07T21:17:28.827Z","modified":"2026-09-09T21:02:22.66Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":9.6,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N","level":"critical","assessor":"secondary"}],"cwes":["CWE-20","CWE-22"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:12:35.743275Z"}],"osv":[{"id":"CVE-2026-50540","title":"Kata Containers: Config Path Annotation Arbitrary File Loading","description":"Kata Containers is an open source project focusing on a standard implementation of lightweight Virtual Machines (VMs) that perform like containers. Prior to version 4.0.0, kata-runtime is vulnerable to host code execution via an unvalidated configuration path annotation. The runtime accepts an arbitrary io.katacontainers.config_path pod annotation and loads the referenced host TOML file without restriction. As a result, a pod user who can place a file at a host-visible path can supply a configuration that selects an attacker-controlled hypervisor or virtio-fs daemon binary, executing code as root on the host. This issue is fixed in version 4.0.0.","status":"published","published":"2026-08-07T20:56:26.209Z","modified":"2026-10-28T02:30:49.043286333Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":9.6,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N","level":"critical"}],"cwes":["CWE-20","CWE-22"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:45:07.431113Z"},{"id":"OESA-2026-3405","title":"kata-containers security update","description":"This is core component of Kata Container, to make it work, you need a isulad/docker engine.\r\n\r\nSecurity Fix(es):\n\nKata Containers is an open source project focusing on a standard implementation of lightweight Virtual Machines (VMs) that perform like containers. Prior to version 4.0.0, kata-runtime is vulnerable to host code execution via an unvalidated configuration path annotation. The runtime accepts an arbitrary io.katacontainers.config_path pod annotation and loads the referenced host TOML file without restriction. As a result, a pod user who can place a file at a host-visible path can supply a configuration that selects an attacker-controlled hypervisor or virtio-fs daemon binary, executing code as root on the host. This issue is fixed in version 4.0.0.(CVE-2026-50540)","status":"published","published":"2026-08-20T09:54:31Z","modified":"2026-08-20T10:15:06.355704004Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":9.6,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N","level":"critical"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:52:47.217107Z"},{"id":"OESA-2026-3653","title":"kata-containers-go security update","description":"This is core component of Kata Container, to make it work, you need a isulad/docker engine.\r\n\r\nSecurity Fix(es):\n\nA flaw was found in Kata Containers, affecting both its Rust and Go runtimes. An authenticated pod user can exploit this by setting the `io.katacontainers.config_path` annotation to an arbitrary configuration file on the host. This allows the attacker to control privileged runtime settings, leading to the execution of malicious binaries as root on the host system. The primary consequence is arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges.(CVE-2026-50540)","status":"published","published":"2026-09-05T15:03:31Z","modified":"2026-09-05T15:16:34.006935058Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":9.6,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N","level":"critical"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:52:47.217107Z"},{"id":"OESA-2026-3850","title":"kata-containers-go security update","description":"This is core component of Kata Container, to make it work, you need a isulad/docker engine.\r\n\r\nSecurity Fix(es):\n\nA flaw was found in Kata Containers, affecting both its Rust and Go runtimes. An authenticated pod user can exploit this by setting the `io.katacontainers.config_path` annotation to an arbitrary configuration file on the host. This allows the attacker to control privileged runtime settings, leading to the execution of malicious binaries as root on the host system. The primary consequence is arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges.(CVE-2026-50540)","status":"published","published":"2026-09-14T16:34:58Z","modified":"2026-09-13T16:45:48.723354436Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":9.6,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N","level":"critical"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:52:47.643553Z"},{"id":"AZL-94610","title":"CVE-2026-50540 affecting package kata-containers for versions less than 3.32.0.kata0-5","description":"Kata Containers is an open source project focusing on a standard implementation of lightweight Virtual Machines (VMs) that perform like containers. Prior to version 4.0.0, kata-runtime is vulnerable to host code execution via an unvalidated configuration path annotation. The runtime accepts an arbitrary io.katacontainers.config_path pod annotation and loads the referenced host TOML file without restriction. As a result, a pod user who can place a file at a host-visible path can supply a configuration that selects an attacker-controlled hypervisor or virtio-fs daemon binary, executing code as root on the host. This issue is fixed in version 4.0.0.","status":"published","published":"2026-08-07T21:17:28Z","modified":"2026-09-22T05:34:53Z","updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:28:12.028669Z"},{"id":"AZL-94622","title":"CVE-2026-50540 affecting package kata-containers-cc for versions less than 3.15.0.aks0-20","description":"Kata Containers is an open source project focusing on a standard implementation of lightweight Virtual Machines (VMs) that perform like containers. Prior to version 4.0.0, kata-runtime is vulnerable to host code execution via an unvalidated configuration path annotation. The runtime accepts an arbitrary io.katacontainers.config_path pod annotation and loads the referenced host TOML file without restriction. As a result, a pod user who can place a file at a host-visible path can supply a configuration that selects an attacker-controlled hypervisor or virtio-fs daemon binary, executing code as root on the host. This issue is fixed in version 4.0.0.","status":"published","published":"2026-08-07T21:17:28Z","modified":"2026-11-05T05:40:51Z","updated_at":"2026-11-05T16:41:26.077208Z"},{"id":"AZL-94679","title":"CVE-2026-50540 affecting package cri-o 1.30.1-1","description":"Kata Containers is an open source project focusing on a standard implementation of lightweight Virtual Machines (VMs) that perform like containers. Prior to version 4.0.0, kata-runtime is vulnerable to host code execution via an unvalidated configuration path annotation. The runtime accepts an arbitrary io.katacontainers.config_path pod annotation and loads the referenced host TOML file without restriction. As a result, a pod user who can place a file at a host-visible path can supply a configuration that selects an attacker-controlled hypervisor or virtio-fs daemon binary, executing code as root on the host. This issue is fixed in version 4.0.0.","status":"published","published":"2026-08-07T21:17:28Z","modified":"2026-11-05T05:36:30Z","updated_at":"2026-11-05T16:41:26.077208Z"},{"id":"AZL-94682","title":"CVE-2026-50540 affecting package kata-containers-preview 3.27.0~preview2-2","description":"Kata Containers is an open source project focusing on a standard implementation of lightweight Virtual Machines (VMs) that perform like containers. Prior to version 4.0.0, kata-runtime is vulnerable to host code execution via an unvalidated configuration path annotation. The runtime accepts an arbitrary io.katacontainers.config_path pod annotation and loads the referenced host TOML file without restriction. As a result, a pod user who can place a file at a host-visible path can supply a configuration that selects an attacker-controlled hypervisor or virtio-fs daemon binary, executing code as root on the host. This issue is fixed in version 4.0.0.","status":"published","published":"2026-08-07T21:17:28Z","modified":"2026-11-05T05:36:30Z","updated_at":"2026-11-05T16:41:26.077208Z"}]}}